We'll Never Speak of This Again
by FantasyDeath
Summary: Hibari Kyouya dies and wakes up in Hueco Mundo. (In which Kyouya becomes the Supreme Ruler of Hueco Mundo, averts an invasion or two and somehow transcends to be the most powerful being in the universe. There is love somewhere too, of course.) (slash, rated M for safety and violence)
1. Chapter 1

**We'll Never Speak of This Again**

 **Summary:** Hibari Kyouya dies and wakes up in Hueco Mundo. (In which Kyouya becomes the Supreme Ruler of Hueco Mundo, averts an invasion or two and somehow transcends to be the most powerful being in the universe. There is love somewhere too, of course.)

 **(WARNINGS! KHR/Bleach crossover, AU, sporadic updates, insanity, Slash, BAMF-Kyouya, BAMF-Shinji, blood and gore (remember that Hollows eat people) this is set as Mature for safety as there will be death and cannibalism (among Hollows) so be warned now.)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The world was completely desolate. There wasn't a sound to be heard, unless you counted the dying screams of agony coming from somewhere far below. In the sky, there hung a silent moon with no stars to be seen. The white sands of the endless desert rarely shifted and the entire place gave off a decidedly eerie atmosphere.

None of this mattered to Kyouya though.

At eighteen years old, Hibari Kyouya was one of the most dangerous people in Vongola and he knew it. Not that he liked to be told so, as it implied he was a part of Vongola when he really didn't care about it. He would admit (though only in the privacy of his mind) that he had come to respect the omnivore Tsunayoshi, but that was essentially it.

So the fact that he had been killed by a stray bullet was especially aggravating.

He frowned where he stood upon the corpse of some giant monster with a hole in its chest that had attacked him when he had first came to this dead world. Its talk about eating him had irritated him enough that he killed it, though it had taken him more time than he would have liked, as it seemed to be built entirely differently from humans. Yet, the beast was capable of speech and had acted somewhat intelligently, retreating back when it turned out he wasn't as easy to kill as it thought he was. Unfortunately, Kyouya had still been somewhat pissed about the fact that he was dead, which meant he had to leave his beloved Namimori, and so didn't let the creature be. In the process of taking out his anger on it, it had died on him and now here he was, standing on its head to see as far as possible in this strange land.

The entire thing was depressing and downright dreary. Kyouya wanted to get back to his home, to Namimori and his people, to Roll and Hibird. He knew very well it wasn't possible. Some things just didn't happen and coming back from the dead were one of them. Despite what other people thought, Kyouya did respect the natural laws. Dead was dead, no matter how you put it.

And Kyouya was most definitely dead.

He sighed and attached his tonfas back to his belt when he determined there were no more beasts close enough to be a danger. His previously white shirt was stained with blood, most of it coming from where the bullet had hit him in his chest, and his black slacks were crumpled and dirty from fighting in white sand. He pulled a hand through his black hair and started the process of climbing down from the beast. Halfway down, he thought fuck it, and jumped the rest of the way to the ground. The beast was at least three times as high as he was and oddly proportioned. He really didn't know how it had had any sense of balance, being built the way it was.

Then there was the weird white mask with strange squiggly black lines coloring it and the hole in its chest big enough that he could see right through it. It wasn't hard to understand that he was in some sort of afterlife. The question was if he was in hell or not as he had killed his share of people. Something he knew most people had a problem with.

It was as he was contemplating this that a strange hunger started gnawing at his stomach. He felt a scream catch in his throat as pain flooded his body. A soundless scream escaped him as felt his entire body _shift_ and something start to grow on his face. The agony took over his entire being and for a few short precious moments, he didn't know who he was. He felt his body move and he watched with a detached sort of curiosity as his body grabbed ahold of one of the weird creature's ( _Hollow_ , something in him said) and tore a bloody bit of flesh from it with his teeth.

Normal people would probably be disgusted by it, but all Kyouya felt as he swallowed the still warm flesh was a disconnected feeling of curiosity. When the flesh settled in his stomach and the sense of power exploded, Kyouya didn't try to stop his body as it moved to eat the rest of the beast _(Hollow)_. The bloody carnage finished some time later—as there was conceivably no way to track time in this world of decay—and Kyouya felt the new power settle and seethe inside of him. He ruthlessly squashed it down as it tried to get a hold of him and ignored the hunger that hadn't abated at all, despite eating a creature _(Hollow)_ much bigger than him.

When he rose from where he had been crouched over the Hollow, his face feeling strange and a new power in his possession, Kyouya licked his lips and felt a mask, presumably similar to that of the other Hollow, meet his tongue. The numbness of his chest told him he most probably had a hole as well and with an irritated hiss, he stood straight and ignored the feeling of a tail dragging behind him.

Kyouya clenched his teeth shut when he had the inexplicable urge to roar, something which he was definitely not going to do, and instead took a step forward from the carcass of the dead Hollow he had spent the time eating. In front of him was an endless desert and there was nothing stopping Kyouya from doing what he wanted anymore. Behind the mask, a bloodthirsty smile curled his lips into something terrifying. He almost laughed as he gave off more of that strange new power that had settled into him and summoned himself more creatures to kill.

This was going to be fun.

— —

Around the small body of a new powerful adjuchas, a sea of corpses laid. The sand was colored red from blood and the dead carcasses were a sad sight to see, some with entire limbs tore straight off. They were covered in scratches from powerful claws digging into them and if their faces could be seen, they would look terrified. In the middle of this bloodbath, a lone Hollow stood, one of the many limbs torn off in his hands that he had recently been eating.

Kyouya had no sense of time in this strange dead world, he could only measure it by when he rested and when he killed, but he knew he had been dead for a while. He spent his time giving off reiatsu to call upon creatures which he could feast his hunger on and walking, trying to find some intelligent company. Kyouya was a solitary creature, but from time to time he got the urge to be around people, which was when he usually just summoned Kusakabe, but now there was no-one to be summoned. The Hollows he killed were all embarrassedly stupid and if he tried to be around then for longer then a few minutes, he'd kill them out of sheer annoyance at their presence. The omnivore had always insisted that he needed to learn to deal with his annoyance better.

Still, Kyouya mused, there had to be more intelligent Hollows somewhere in this desert that could appreciate the wonder that was silence.

Instead of laying down and basking in the spilled blood like he wanted to, Kyouya started walking again, knowing full well that scavengers—Hollows that weren't strong enough to kill anything on their own—were soon going to be feasting upon this sight. Kyouya was starting to think that being turned into a Hollow had only raised his desire to kill if the amount of time he lured himself stupid Hollows were anything to by.

Well, it was their own fault if they fell for it.

Kyouya clicked his teeth in irritation as he felt Hollows swarm the corpses of the creatures he had just spent the last couple of hours killing but didn't turn around to look. The hunger was still present, as it always was, and Kyouya found the idea that it was Hollows attempt to find something that had been lost that made them hungry all the time to be stupid and idiotic, but he couldn't deny the fact that he _was_ hungry and he apparently didn't have a heart anymore. He didn't know if that meant that it was just dead and not beating or if it meant that he actually didn't have one anymore.

Nonetheless, Kyouya was annoyed at the constant hunger that made him salivate at the thought of eating more creatures and made him sometimes lose himself in the process of killing things. He wasn't used to losing control like that and he didn't like it.

He bit back a snarl and concentrated on just walking. Despite the downright gloomy atmosphere the desert world that he had learned was called Hueco Mundo from another Hollow right before he killed it radiated, there was something calming in just walking. He breathed in the scent of death and decay that covered the entire plane and although he had the brief thought to open a garganta and just leave the dimension that he had found himself in after being killed, he ignored it and instead tried to pinpoint the sense of strong reiatsu that he could feel somewhere to his right, passed the many dunes of sand.

Recently, he had gotten better at sensing things other then himself and although his accuracy still needed a lot of work, he was much better than he used to be when he first came here. He had gotten help, if it could be called that, from a Hollow that he had trapped and, as a nod to their help, had then left trapped alive behind him. He didn't particularly care what had happened to it after that.

He tilted his head as he turned around to face the direction from which the strong sense of reiatsu gathered and after contemplating it for a while, he decided to go ahead and see if they could be worth something. The idea that he was desperate enough for company that he would willingly walk towards another Hollow made him grit his teeth and snarl soundlessly, but he was passed the point of redemption a long time ago. He didn't think even the omnivore would forgive him for everything he had done in this realm, no matter how forgiving he was.

So he started walking off in the direction of this other Hollow and started making his way past what seemed like an endless supply of sand. He knew that there was more Hollows, stronger ones, gathered underground in a place called the Menos Forest, but at this moment, he saw no reason to go there. He wanted to meet this new presence, that if he were a lesser Hollow would have made his hair (or fur in some cases) stand in fear, and he was going to.

The walk seemed to take forever, as Kyouya was point blank refusing to run, especially not when he didn't know what he was running to. Instead, he took his time eating Hollows that crossed his path and luring them in when he was too hungry to care that it wasn't something he would have done had he been alive. He wouldn't have _needed_ to. When a sandstorm passed him, he hid in a convenient cave that had signs of once having been inhabited, but as he felt no-one else's presence in it, he assumed whatever had lived there was long gone.

He past time humming the Namimori Middle song when he was bored and looking up at the starless sky. He imagined that it would be hard to navigate in this world if he couldn't feel others, but didn't give it much thought. From time to time, he just sat in the white sand and contemplated life, something he didn't do when he was alive. But that was the keyword, wasn't it? _Was._

Kyouya was very much dead and nothing was going to change it. To be completely honest, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to. He didn't know how much time had passed in the living world, but he didn't doubt that everyone that mattered to him had already moved on from his death and there would be no use in trying to come back to life. The few people who he cared for were strong and a thing like him dying wasn't going to hold them down for long. Rather he imagined they had already gotten revenge for his death and so there was no reason for him to do so.

No, he was going to carve himself a place in this new world of endless night and that was that.

Kyouya turned his head around when he felt the presence that had been in one place for so long begin to move. He narrowed his eyes and let out a low curse as he felt the being start making its way away from him, irritated that it didn't consider him worthy to meet. Considering the amount of reiatsu he could feel from it, he probably shouldn't be mad that he didn't get a chance to meet it, but if he spent his afterlife avoiding carnivores, he wouldn't get to have any satisfactory fights and than it just wouldn't be worth it.

He was already dead, if he wanted to pick fight with creatures he had never met before and that he didn't know the strength of, then he was going to.

He picked up speed as he continued following behind the fleeing Hollow that he was determined to meet (because it _was_ fleeing, though he had no idea why when it was that strong) and his eyes were narrowed in fury. Kyouya knew he could be terrifying when he was mad, the omnivore had told him that often enough, but he didn't think he had ever been this angry before. This fleeing Hollow was the first interesting thing that had appeared in this decayed world and it thought he would just let it go?

Kyouya was a very good hunter when he wanted to be and he put it to good use as he followed the Hollow. Inside he was seething with rage at the thought of the monotone boredom that would take a hold of him again if he let this creature flee and it only fueled his determination to catch it even higher.

An untold amount of time passed him by as he hunted after the strongest Hollow he could currently feel, even as it attempted to hide from him by hiding its reiatsu, Kyouya kept on track and continued after it. He was determined to catch it, if only because he wanted to laugh in its face once it found it had been caught. When things ran away from him, it only made him want to chase it, if only to prove he was better at hunting than it was at running. And so, he only rested long enough to get his energy back and ate when he came upon Hollows too stupid to run away from him. For once, he was actually running and not luring in Hollows as he attempted to hide his spirit energy from the creature he was chasing.

There was no way to tell how much time had passed when he finally closed in on its location enough to be able to tell it wasn't very far from him at all. It had done a good job of hiding its reiatsu, but the Hollow simply had so much that even hiding it didn't do much in the long run.

As he got closer and slowed down now that he could tell it was no longer attempting to run from him, probably resigned to its fate, Kyouya began to feel reiatsu press down on him as he neared it. For a while now, the Hollows that crossed his path were already dead and although he had found it slightly odd, he had thought the being he was chasing had simply killed them. And he had had no compunction of eating them.

Yet, as he felt the reiatsu press down on his being, almost forcing him to his knees if he wasn't so stubborn, he began to think that maybe the reiatsu was the reason they were dead. He made his way closer and closer around the dune the creature was hiding behind—though he was starting to doubt _what_ it was hiding from—and Kyouya felt as if an entire world was dropped on his shoulders. To his irritation, his legs started to shake from trying to hold his weight and when he felt himself starting to get light-headed and dizzy, he did something he had not done since dying. He called upon his Cloud Flames.

They were different and for a moment, he thought he might not have them anymore, but no, they were definitely there. With a smile that he usually never wore, he searched inside himself as he grabbed ahold of his flames. Flames were the power of the soul, it was a persons Will and although it had changed with his death, they were still there.

As his knees hit the ground and black spots started to form in front of his eyes, he grabbed at the Cloud Flames he still had and with a frustrated curse, guided them to that place where he could feel his reiryoku gathered. For a second, he thought that it wouldn't work, that he was going to die just because this being was so much more powerful (though he absolutely hated to admit it) but then he felt something in him change again as his flames got to work.

He was tempted to let out a roar in victory and a slightly unhinged laugh as he felt his reiryoku begin to multiply inside of him.

The multiplying picked up speed as he figured out how to do it right and before long, he let out a soft breath and opened his closed eyes to see a bewildered looking man standing in front of his kneeling form. Kyouya scowled and made to get to his feet as fast as he could, having no desire to _kneel_ to anybody.

He watched, irritated as he saw the man in front of him was taller then he was, as the man looked him up and down, doubtlessly thinking he was too weak to have survived his pressing reiatsu, that still fought to push him down and kill him. Kyouya scowled behind his mask, not that it could be seen, and glared at the man with shoulder length dark hair and the bottom of a mask clinging to his neck.

"So," he demanded, no longer surprised at the guttural sound his voice made. "tell me why you were running from me."

The man only blinked at the sound of his voice and sat down on the sand, seeming to still be surprised that Kyouya was alive."My reiatsu...no-one survives it. Why aren't you dead?"

"I can multiply my own reiatsu." Kyouya stated bluntly.

The other Hollows eyes widened in disbelief while Kyouya studied the being in front of him. He looked scruffy and his hair was shaggy, like he had recently been sleeping. The clothes he wore were in much better condition then his own and Kyouya was starting to wonder if he should just go to the Living World and steal some new ones, as the blood was impossible to get out, as there was virtually no water in this world, and they were in pieces anyway.

It was a thought that bore considering.

— —

Some time later, they were both sitting on the ground as they rested in silence, Kyouya's need for companionship finally satisfied. From what he could tell from the short stilted conversations they had had, Starrk, as that was apparently its name, apparently longed for company as his heavy reiatsu meant that most Hollows died when they got within a certain radius of him. As long as Starrk knew that Kyouya wasn't going to stay with hm for any great length of time, then Kyouya supposed that he could track this Hollow down when his urge for comfortable silence in the presence of another acted up again.

Kyouya studied the moon in the sky that he had come to realize was the only true measure of time passing, as the moon went from full moon to new moon and back again.

It was a monochrome world.

And so for a time, he stayed with Starrk and his silence. Starrk seemed satisfied with Kyouya just being near him but after awhile, Kyouya started to get restless. There was a reason he had not stayed in one of the hideouts he had found while walking. He enjoyed it too much. Kyouya supposed that it could be blamed on the fact that he was a Cloud, but considering he had not seen his parents for years before he died, he thought it was just a Hibari thing. So after some time, he made his way away from the dune he had spent the last month or so resting in with the first intelligent Hollow he had found. It was a shame that Starrk insisted on being an omnivore.

Kyouya walked off in a random direction, again missing Roll and Hibird, but he had already decided that he wasn't yet going to the Living World. When his pants finally tore beyond repair, he would entertain the thought again, but for the moment, he was content to explore the seemly endless desert.

The irritation caused by his long hair swaying in a breeze that brought sand with it made him scowl, and resolutely walk away.

Kyouya stalked the white sands as he pinpointed a moderately strong reiatsu off somewhere in front of him and with a bloodthirsty grin, he followed it. He was hungry and it had been quite some time since he last ate. He had found that he enjoyed hunting his meals more then he liked luring them in. A slightly unhinged laugh escaped him as he walked towards his new meal.

He was going to enjoy this.

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 **A/N: So I am very much aware I should probably work on my already existing stories, but well, I just couldn't _not_ write this. This is my first time writing both Bleach and KHR, so feedback would be very much appreciated. Also, I feel like I should mention one more time that updates will be sporadic. I have no schedule for when I write. **

**Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!**

 _ **-FantasyDeath**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Reviews make me all giddy inside, so I wouldn't be opposed to reading all your thought's on this.**

 **Also, I'm fairly sure what the main pairing with Kyouya is going to be, so do you want to know or should it be a surprise?**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

In the world that was Hueco Mundo, a lone Hollow stood once more in a sea of corpses.

This was no unusual sight, as Hollows that hunted in groups often ganged up on lone Hollows, what was unusual on the other hand was the fact that it was this lone Hollow that had won and killed them instead. The corpses of a couple of strong adjuchas and scavengers that had gotten caught up in his killing spree surrounded Kyouya where he stood in the middle of it. His waist length black hair was drenched in blood as was his clothes. For a moment, he contemplated just leaving them behind and continuing on naked, but he supposed that the nights in Hueco Mundo were too cold for that. And loathed as he was to admit it, he had missed the Living World.

Kyouya didn't bother stepping away from the corpses he had already eaten his fill of as he stretched out his hand and with a slight twitch of it, opened his very first garganta. He had no destination beyond Japan as he attempted it for the first time.

Naturally, he succeeded on his first try.

Kyouya religiously followed the motto of 'if at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you ever tried'.

His body gave no reaction as he stepped through the portal that was for some reason called a garganta, knowledge all Hollows had dumped into their heads when they were turned or whatever, and although it had taken some time for him to find it, found it he had.

He stepped out on the other side, the smell of live humans surrounding as he left the cold air of Hueco Mundo behind him. Kyouya grimaced slightly behind his mask as he let the garganta close behind him and started making his way through the forest he evidently ended up in to civilization. From where the sun was in the sky (a sight he found that he had missed more than he thought, as Hueco Mundo was in an eternal state of night) he figured that it was probably somewhere around midday and he should be easily able to find an open store to steal some clothes from.

The idea of _needing_ to steal anything disgusted him, as it was a blatant act of disturbing the peace, but until he found a way to get actual money without stealing that as well, it would have to do.

That didn't mean he liked it though.

Kyouya let out an inaudible sigh as he stalked through the trees, because he did nothing half-assed, and made his way to the closest direction of a collection of reiatsu. It startled him exactly how _weak_ they felt, even weaker than the hollows he ate and gorged on when he felt the need and it almost made him want to go in another direction, disgusted by how much weakness he could feel even as far away as he was.

But he was a Hollow on a mission and his clothes really were in frankly horrible conditions.

So when he came upon a road, he followed it to the city he appeared to be near and then just walked along the crowds, as irritating as it was. He did not like crowding, but it was the fastest way to find a store when he couldn't ask anyone for directions and there were rarely signs pointing towards stores.

He followed along until he came to a suitable clothing shop, the door already open and seemingly just waiting for him to enter. He moved along the shelves silently, looking for anything that would work in an environment as unforgiving as Hueco Mundo. In the end, he settled for a short sleeved black shirt and a pair of black pants, slightly thicker than normally, hoping that the color would keep the blood that would undoubtedly stain it from being too obvious.

Once finished, he left the shop as if he were never there, disappearing with a handful of clothes that were just as invisible as him due to being in his grasp.

— —

Kyouya stared listlessly out at the endless amount of sand in front of him as he found himself contemplating his life. It wasn't generally something he usually did, much less when he was actually alive, but he had realized that if he didn't occupy his mind with _something_ , he'd go insane from the boredom that perpetuated this place.

There was nothing to do.

He turned so he laid on his side and blinked slowly through his mask. The complete and utter lack of anything to do was starting to mess with his head. It had been some time ago that he had parted with Starrk and as much as he wanted to find him and alleviate the crushing boredom he was experiencing, somehow it would feel like defeat. Like he lost something if he did and so instead of searching him out, he had simply stopped moving. Even the Hollows stupid enough to come near him offered no break from the monotone afterlife he led.

His long hair dragged on the sand, no doubt becoming even more of a mess, but he just didn't care to fix it and braiding it would just remind him of Fon, the bastard carnivore he still wasn't entirely sure how he was related to. Not that it mattered, he was dead after all.

That's right, he was dead. Dead.

Totally and irrevocably dead.

Completely dead.

Dead.

A hiss of frustration escaped him as he sat up, by now used to the tail that had appeared with the mask. He climbed to his feet and started pacing as he tried to think of anything—anything at all—that he could do. As it was, he was going to go insane.

A distant roar what was finally gave him an idea. He could evolve. He was currently an adjuchas, but if he evolved he would surely have stronger prey. The problem was that becoming a Vasto Lorde was an incredibly time consuming process that not every Hollow was capable of. He had no wish to waste his time. On the other, he was so bored that wasting time sounded like a wonderful idea. But trying to find prey in the desert would take too long with what he wanted.

Which meant he would have to go underground.

A bloodthirsty grin twisted his delicate features into something right out of a horror movie and a high-pitched cackle emerged from the white, elegant mask, the sound enough to make a Hollow feel terror into their very bones.

He opened his mouth and charged up a purple Cero, charging it with his Cloud Flames as well to make it as strong as he could. Once it was about the size of his palm, he angled his head down and with his eyes glowing purple through the mask, he let it go.

The resulting flash of white hot flame was enough to blind a human. It travelled down at inhumane speeds, pierced the sand covered floor and with a great groan, continued on through the ceiling to the forest underground. Kyouya fell through the floor with a smile on his face as he enjoyed the ride. The flame was so hot that the sand around the newly made hole was turned to glass, even as more sand flowed on top of it.

With the grace of a feline, Kyouya landed on the hard ground on all four.

He rose up straight and observed his new surroundings. The area around him was as dead as the surface, but the few quartz like trees that dotted the main landscape were everywhere around him, large and imposing, some reaching all the way up to the roof. This was undoubtedly a forest.

A forest filled with prey.

It took everything in him not to immediately start laughing insanely out of pure joy, because this could fix all his problems. He would evolve and destroy his boredom at the same time.

It was perfect.

He loosened his shoulders, let his tonfa fall into his hands and started walking into the darkness of the Forest of Menos.

If anyone could see him, they would be running in the other direction out of pure animalistic fear.

Too bad he had arrived in non-populated area.

Truly, it was a shame.

Kyouya searched through the forest, his eyes cold as steel and his mind utterly focused on his task. He'd spread out his cloud flames around him for kilometers around and had picked up several life-signs. While he completely ignored the Gillians, as he had absolutely no interest in them, he instead concentrated on following an adjuchas whose trace he had picked up. He was sure it knew it was being followed, as it travelled in several different directions, changing its way on random and going both up and down, presumably jumping between trees. Instead of following up into the branches, Kyouya stayed on the ground as he stalked his prey.

He was very much aware that he was walking right into a trap.

He could sense the adjuchas the one he was following was leading him too and if he had been in any way like a normal person (or Hollow for that matter) he would have turned tailed and fled the moment he realized it, as they were all of fairly impressive strength and well hidden, but to him it just increased the fun of it.

Coming to this forest was already proving worth it.

In the end, he walked into the trap. It was just more fun that way.

The clearing he arrived in was well hidden with towering trees surrounding it that provided ample places to hide. When Kyouya entered it, he was already aware of the many Hollows hiding in them—at least over a dozen—but made no move to show his understanding. Instead, he decided to take the opportunity to play with his food, something Fon always nagged at him about. Apparently it wasn't sanitary or something like that.

He stopped walking in the middle of the clearing, looked around obviously for the Hollow he had been chasing (not that he needed to, it was in the tree to his left approximately two meters high up) and made a sound as if he was confused. The Hollows were completely fooled.

As one, they dropped from the trees and he had to give them credit, it looked seamless enough that they had probably done this many times before. Unfortunately, they had never met him before either. Kyouya grinned, bloodlust shining in his eyes, giving them a glint of madness and stood in a relaxed position with his tonfas in his hands. He pulled his flames back, as that would make this more of a challenge and there was thus a greater chance that he would be successfully ambushed, something that was always amusing. The Hollow in front of him, a big blue colored thing with a wide mask that climbed down its shoulders and a pair of ugly looking claws on its hands, gave him a smug look. Kyouya bristled in annoyance.

"Didn't think it was a trap, did you? Don't worry, you're not the first one to fall for it and you wan't be the last." so said, the Hollow grinned and gave a sharp whistle. Immediately, all the ones surrounding it shifted to ready positions and let out loud roars.

It was probably supposed to be terrifying. Probably.

And then the carnage started.

Kyouya had never been afraid to go overkill even when he was alive, only the knowledge that he didn't want to scare the fluffy animals had him constraining himself, but there were no fluffy animals in Hueco Mundo. No reason to stop himself from doing as his instincts said.

Kyouya positively tore through the Hollows, going for the most painful places possible rather than the most lethal and using blunt force trauma rather than actual skill. He smashed his way through skulls and masks, broke bones like they were paper and even tore out a throat or two with his teeth. His mind was completely focused on the battle and as more Hollows got pulled into the massacre, he raised his reiatsu output and crushed them with the pressure of his spirit energy alone.

At some point, he lost his tonfa and instead made do with his bare claws, tearing anything he could reach and even when he was ganged up on, they never managed to pin him down for more then a second. Eventually, there was no-one left.

Kyouya sat in a pool of blood, looking up at the dark roof of the forest. His hands were stained with blood, as was his mask and his mouth still had the taste of flesh left in it.

Surrounding him were the corpses, and soon to be corpses, of the Hollows that had tried to eat him (because he wasn't about to delude himself, they had wanted to eat him, not just kill him) with limbs laying uselessly to the side. Kyouya sighed into the darkness of the eternal night and brought the torn off leg up to his mouth to take another bite. He bit through the mess of flesh, muscles and bones and swallowed down the reishi that came with it, increasing his own. If he kept going at this pace, it would probably still be a few months until he became a Vasto Lorde, but he figured it would be worth it in the end.

At the very least, while he powered up, he would get to hunt down his food and play with it. From his recent experience he could confirm that it was much more fun when the food could fight back.

Once he'd eaten his fill of the monsters laying around him, he yawned, laid down in the blood that he still hadn't left, curled in on his side and fell asleep. It was the first time he had felt at home enough to take a proper nap since he'd died. And it was glorious.

— —

The Forest of Menos, below the sandy desert that was Hueco Mundo, was far larger then it first appeared. The trees were all tall towering things, with the darkness that perpetuated everything in this place making them appear far more imposing then they probably were. Walking amongst them were the gigantic figures of Gillians, mindless beasts that could only follow the orders of higher evolved Hollows. Naturally, Kyouya had avoided them for as long as he could, as he had no use of them.

Among the trees and rocks that decorated the landscape, Hollows of different strength hid and schemed, plotting how to kill other Hollows so they themselves could evolve. So far, Kyouya had yet to find a single fluffy being.

It was possibly the worst part of being dead.

Currently speaking, Kyouya was lazing about on a branch of one of those trees. Despite the hard material they were made of, they were surprisingly comfortable to sleep on. It helped that his body had gotten more resistant since he became a Hollow.

Kyouya dropped from the tree when he felt the presence that had entered his flame output that was keeping track of anyone around him. However, the presence was not that of a Hollow.

It was close and felt somewhat similar in the way two people of opposing flame types felt similar, but it was undoubtedly not of Hollow nature. It felt powerful though and Kyouya had been on his personal crusade of evolving for a few weeks now and he was starting to get bored again and as he didn't know where the exist back to the desert was, he couldn't even go find Starrk and bother him.

So he waited for the presence to come closer and then he used a burst of speed to intercept the being in its path.

The being, a man covered in a fur coat with the masks of Hollows on it and a sword at his waist with a green hilt, tensed the second he came into sight. He brought his hands up and even with the mask covering his face that looked like a gazille's (it was not his mask though, rather it was a spoil of war) he seemed serious. Kyouya inspected the way he looked like he hadn't had a bath in ages, the way his human feet were bare but not torn up and the way his reiatsu rose as he prepared to fight him. He wasn't a Hollow and he wasn't human, yet he was in the cursed place that was Hueco Mundo.

A pleased smile shifted his face behind his mask into something that could give a child nightmares as he realized that this must be a Shinigami. A natural enemy.

A new toy to play with.

He cleared his throat, as it had been some time since he last spoke, and asked, "What is a Shinigami doing here?"

The Shinigami didn't waste any time as it answered. "Its duty."

Kyouya blinked, having expected more swearing and accusations, but kept talking. "But this is not your territory." he stated.

The Shinigami started to relax a little when he didn't immediately attack it. "I have lived here for centuries. This _is_ my territory."

"Hn," Kyouya began, "you are fairly strong. Fight me." he demanded.

The Shinigami put its hand on its swords hilt and turned its body slightly. "Gladly."

For seconds, they stared at each other. When the strange equilibrium was finally destroyed, it was without a sound. Suddenly, they were in front of each other. Kyouya grinned and let his spirit energy loose, he let it curl around the the other being in front of him. This was the most fluffy thing he had seen since he had come here and he supposed that it would just have to do. The trick was getting it to accept his authority without damaging it beyond repair. He wouldn't want to break it before he had a chance to play with it.

The first hit of his tonfa smashed the mask the Shinigami was wearing to pieces.

The pale face that stared back at him was undoubtedly male, if a very pretty one. The shaggy hair framed its face. Kyouya didn't spare more than a moment to exam its looks before he continued with his attacks.

The Shinigami was fast. It twirled around his tonfa and attacks without getting hit, dodging instead of blocking. From time to time, it let lightening run from its fingers and at first Kyouya thought he had a lightening flame, but no, it was just spells. Incantations. A specific twist to its reiatsu controlled by the words and gestures used. Kyouya was fairly sure that if he had enough practice, he could copy it, even if he couldn't do the exact same thing due to the difference in energies.

It was fascinating, the things this dead world offered him.

Kyouya doubled his speed and let the chains on his tonfas fly.

— —

Once again, there was silence.

The subjective peace of the forest had been restored as the beast made of reiatsu that haunted it was occupied with its newest pet. In the crown of a tree, Kyouya stared dubiously at the torn body of the Shinigami, slowly healing as he used his cloud flames to restore its reishi.

The Shinigami was strong and could be made stronger and he hadn't tried to talk to him. It stared at him with suspicious eyes, but it didn't make any unnecessary noises or tried to get him to reveal his nefarious plans. Something that many had tried to do when he was alive. For some reason they kept telling him that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't actually rule the world, which made no sense, because Kyouya had no such aspirations. The paperwork alone was enough to get him to give up that idea.

So the Shinigami managing not to mindlessly babble in his presence was already a point in their favor.

He had now captured another soul to relieve his occasional need to talk and bask in the fear of others. After some thought on the matter, he decided it would be easier to call the Shinigami by name, as eventually he would need to track down more to judge their strength. The one he had fought was fairly impressive and its speed was far above what he usually saw from Hollows, but that could be a singular occurrence resulting from living in Hueco Mundo. He would need to find out more later.

So he lazily opened his mouth and stated, in a monotone voice, "Your name."

The Shinigami startled, it glanced up at him from the ground where it laid. "Ashido. Ashido Kanou."

"Hmm. Acceptable."

— —

The silence was oppressive. Ashido looked at the Hollow sleeping next to him, wondering what he was still doing here. Why he hadn't left the second it went to sleep. On the other hand, during the several days (he thought it was days, it was hard to tell) he had witnessed him awaking just from him taking a step and subsequently gotten into fights with him. Fights he never won, although he'd gotten closer lately.

But if he really tried, he could leave, he knew that.

Maybe it was the loneliness.

Ashido had lived in Hueco Mundo for centuries, with only the graves of his dead comrades and friends to speak to. Hollows only ever wanted to taunt him, they never tried to hold a proper conversation with him and while this Hollow hadn't either, it answered his questions and had so far made no move to actually eat him. For the last few days, they had been tracking other Hollows and from what he understood during their limited amount of speaking, the Hollow intended to kill and eat them, not necessarily in that order.

Being a… companion with this Hollow wouldn't stop him from performing his duty.

(He would still kill it, if he ever got the chance.)

There was something he had been wondering about for a while now and he had finally gathered enough courage to ask it. "Hollow. When you were alive, what did you do? You seem to thrive in this environment in a way that even many Hollows rarely do."

The Hollow didn't move and he didn't expect it to, he was now well familiar with its habit to take naps. "I killed people for a living and ruled a town. It was fun."

"Ah," he found himself unsurprised by the answer. "I see."

The Hollow didn't say anything more than that and he found himself stunned that he wanted to know more. Well, he wanted to learn more in that morbid curiosity that you wanted to know if a fire would burn you. It was for this reason alone that he asked the next question (he wasn't getting attached).

"You name?"

The Hollow made an annoyed sound and answered, "Kyouya. Hibari Kyouya. Now shut up."

He wasn't getting attached at all.

(He sucked at lying to himself. He had missed the silence between conversations, the way things came naturally when you had someone to talk to. Someone that could answer back.

Loneliness.

It had to be because he had been alone for so long.

That's all it was.)

* * *

 **A/N: I suck at writing fighting scenes, if you missed that. Any advice on how to improve them would be very much appreciated.**

 **Thank you to everyone that has read and** **reviewed, I am delighted by the good response to this story!**

 **I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

 _ **-FantasyDeath**_


	3. Chapter 3

**I recently created an account on AO3 (same username) and this story is now being crossposted there.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Coyote Starrk liked to think he was a pretty nice Hollow.

Sure, just being around him was tantamount to suicide, but that wasn't exactly his fault. And the range of his power had lessened after he'd split his soul into two and Lilynette had come into being. Or he'd come into being, it was hard to tell.

Nevertheless, he'd like to think he was a pretty good guy.

Lately though, things had started changing. It started very simple.

Starrk met a Hollow that called itself Hibari Kyouya, a Hollow that could withstand his vast amount of reishi.

To other less powerful Hollows perhaps this wouldn't mean anything. But Starrk had been alone for so long with only himself for company and the corpses of the few stupid and brave Hollows that thought they could kill him that it was like when someone looked up at the sky in Hueco Mundo for the first time and noticed that it was actually a black color, not blue. For him, this one meeting changed everything.

Starrk could sense it, when Kyouya left to the Forest of Menos. It stung, a little bit, that Kyouya didn't seek him out often despite professing that he was more comfortable with Starrk than others, but Starrk had also spent enough time with the other Hollow to know that while Kyouya appreciated silence and peace he also loved fighting and being the cause of said peace, if only through fear. So while he spent some time sulking (not that he'd ever admit it) about being left behind, he moved past it once he'd come to accept that Kyouya was a free spirit that couldn't be tied down, not even by a being as old and as powerful as him. And Starrk was both very old and very powerful.

That didn't mean that he to be passive and quiet about it though.

No, it didn't mean that at all.

Kyouya was a wild and free spirit, one that appreciated order more than chaos (unlike normal Hollows) and that had repeatedly complained to Starrk about the sheer magnitude of the disorder amongst Hueco Mundo's residents. Sure there were a few Hollows (the most powerful of the Vasto Lorde) that thought themselves rulers and kings of this vast desert, but even they couldn't hope to have a grip on Hueco Mundo tight enough to rule the enterity of it. Even Starrk didn't truly know how big Hueco Mundo was.

But Kyouya (if he truly had the power to multiply his own reiryoku, and he was inclined to believe he did) was easily among the most powerful Hollows and as he evolved he'd only get more powerful. Perhaps it was a fools dream, but the sheer monotony and boredom of Hueco Mundo could drive anyone insane and Starrk truly thought Hibari Kyouya could do it. More than that, he found that he desperately wanted to see it. He wanted to see how this annoyingly lacking world would look under the leadership of Hibari Kyouya.

The first step to this would be to find a base to work from. Preferably one without too much sand.

— —

In the Menos Forest, far beneath the surface, Hibari Kyouya was relaxing on the ground, completely unconcerned about any potential ambushes. He'd found that Ashido, as much as he clearly disliked being around him, took his duty of killing Hollows very seriously and could be marginally trusted to kill any Hollows that got too close. Not that they'd be a problem even if he failed.

Still, time passed in a distinctly foreign fashion, whatever means one used to measure it gone with the sky. It didn't help that Kyouya was the kind of person that would rather take multiple naps a day than sleep the entire night away for hours at a time.

As a result, there was no way to tell exactly how long he'd been in the Forest of Menos.

Not that Kyouya cared either way.

Regardless, Ashido was a welcome distraction. Ashido was quiet and thoughtful and never said anything unecessary, he never demanded anything of Kyouya and never asked for anything more than what he got. He had no problem with seeing Kyouya eat the corpses and non-corpses of Hollows that they came across and, most importantly, he never lied. It may seem as a minor issue, but Kyouya was the kind of person that didn't care for lies at all, as he knew very well that all they ever created were more problems. That wasn't to say that Kyouya would never lie if the situation called for it, but more often than not, it didn't. People were more than capable of lying to themselves and making up excuses for him, they didn't need him to add to it. And whatever story they told themselves, commonly, it was what they were most willing to accept.

That wasn't to say that Ashido was without faults, his sanity was clearly leaning more towards crazy than sane after being trapped (willingly or otherwise) in the home of his enemies for so long, but he was, at the very least, pleasant to be around and as he held no need to speak about nonsense like so many others, Kyouya was more inclined to accept his presence. There was also the benefit of Ashido being very proficient at what he called _kido._

This was the term he used for what were essentially spells.

Granted they were very complicated spells, the incantations (for lack of a better word) usually several sentences long from what Ashido had demonstrated, but it was also clear, just from this, that Ashido was indeed very good at it and Kyouya had been right in his decision to keep him. Ashido had no need for the long over abundant sentences and when it came to the spells he used most frequently, like the ones to summon water and light, he had no need for words at all, the spells so well used and ingrained in his memory that all he to do was twist his spirit energy. And even better, he had perfect control over how much water or light to summon. This meant that for Kyouya, drinking water and washing clothes (together with occasionally showering) was no longer a thing of the past. All together, this meant that to Kyouya, Ashido had gone from a plaything to a useful minion, a position that served him far more safety and protection from Kyouya. Protection from other beings as well, as Kyouya was very possessive of what he considered his and had never pretended he weren't.

Of course, there was also the matter of Ashido currently being the most fluffy thing he's found.

But, disregarding all that, he'd found that the Menos Forest was a fun place to hunt and play in with plenty of prey. And he was much closer to evolving into a Vasto Lorde than he'd been when he first entered this desolate forest. Taking all this into account, being dead wasn't nearly as hopeless as he'd thought it'd be.

Well, it could still be boring to the point of tears as nothing even slightly significant ever happened in Hueco Mundo. Even the occasional visits from Shinigami bent on trying to wipe them out or capture them for experiments held no particular value to the many many _many_ souls (corrupted though they may be) living in this decayed dimension.

A grunt to the side made him open his eyes in time to see a sword with a green hilt impaling an ugly looking Hollow covered in red spikes and what looked like an incomplete poorly constructed bone armor. The Hollow made a low keening sound, wounded and soul-deep, but found no sympathy from the souls it had tried, and failed, to attack and eat. Instead it was mercilessly sluaghtered by the Shinigami just moments from its goals.

Kyouya watched expressionlessly as the Hollow died, completely unconcerned about its fate. Once it was on the edge of death, he climbed to his clawed feet and crossed the short distance to the Hollow where he then took a half-hearted bite out of its leg, one of the the places not covered by the armor.

He felt no pleasure in eating a Hollow he hadn't hunted himself, but he also knew that wasting food was a thing you just didn't do. It was bad manners.

Once finished with his meal, he turned to Ashido and, after thinking about it for a total of three seconds, said, "Thank you for the meal."

Ashido's face was hidden behind a new mask, another spoil of war, but he still managed to perfectly convey his confusion. "Hibari-san I've been thinking about this for a while, but how did you die?"

"A bullet to the heart." Kyouya's voice was blunt and as flat as possible.

"Oh..." Ashido started, "that's unfortunate."

If Kyouya had been a lesser Hollow (and it should be unsettling, how fast he'd adapted to the mindset that he was a Hollow now, no longer human, but it wasn't) he'd have snorted at the lackluster response, but it wasn't entirely incorrect. Tsunayoshi may be strong, but he was not a carnivore and doubtlessly had grieved uselessly for his death. Thankfully, he could be sure that his Foundation had been fine and continued their duties. He trusted Kusakabe to know what he wanted.

"It is useless to regret it now. What's dead is dead." Kyouya didn't bother to think more on the subject, as he'd already done enough of that. It wouldn't change a thing, regardless, wondering about it. He turned his head when he felt the presence of a far more powerful Hollow somewhere to his left and started walking in that direction. From behind him he could hear the sound of Ashido saying,

"I suppose so."

— —

Ashido looked after as Hibari left, the Hollow on the hunt for more food.

He wondered, for a moment, what he would have done if he had been turned into a Hollow when he'd died instead of being brought to Soul Society. But then he threw those thoughts away and concentrated on following his companion (reluctant friend, object of his foolish admiration and respect) on his chase through the dense trees. He didn't stop to think about if he'd be welcome or how he was voluntary following a Hollow of his own free will (foolish, he was so very very foolish) into what could very well be a trap.

He jumped from tree to tree, twisting between the branches with the kind of effortless grace that came from doing it many many times over hundreds of years. He didn't need to think about it, it was a motion ingrained in his very bones. Following after Hibari when he was on the hunt for something was always a pain and a half, because he was truly a frightening hunter, completely capable of masking his presence. He could only be found when he wanted to be. So Ashido was under no delusion, if Hibari honestly didn't want him to follow, then he simply wouldn't be able to.

Ashido wasn't a genius and he had no doubt that were many Shinigami that were more powerful, more skilled and more experienced than him.

But he also wasn't an idiot and he was well aware that spending as long as he had in a world with nothing but enemies and dead friends had changed him. He no longer thought like he used and mercy was a foreign concept. When he fought, he always _always_ , no matter what, went for the killing blow.

There was no way he would ever be accepted by Soul Society and Seireitei again.

Up ahead, the fight had begun.

There was the sound metal on bone, a crunching sound that at the start of this strange partnership had made him nauseous, but the feeling had disappeared after he'd gotten used to it. The involuntary fear never did though.

But in the dead world that was Hueco Mundo, if you didn't feel fear, you couldn't survive.

A great roar filled the forest, a thundering sound that made one want to cover ones ears, and an answering, somehow more encompassing, roar filled it soon after. In the confusion and due to the distance, Ashido couldn't discern which roar came from Hibari. But by now he had been around the Hollow long enough to know that if something was deemed impossible, Hibari could do it. He was sure that the most intense and forceful roar belonged to Hibari.

(He was so very very stupid.

What would his comrades, his captain, think of him if they could see him now? What would they do if they knew the thoughts that went through his head?

Would they hate him?

What would they do if they knew about the slow careful _trust_ he was beginning to feel for a Hollow?)

(Still, there was nothing to be done now, the wheels had already started to turn. All he could do was hang on for the ride.)

He closed the last bit of distance between himself and Hibari and emerged between the trees in time to watch as the powerful form of Hibari tore the head of the other Hollow clear off its neck.

The thing was that, even covered in blood and gore as he was, Hibari Kyouya was beautiful.

His form was lithe and slender, more suited for speed than strength and his mask somehow managed to be gorgeous and terrifying at the same time, purple and black in different shades that created patterns of flowers and creeping vines. His eyes, when Ashido managed to see them through the mask, were violet in colour and glowing with a fire from within.

His feet and hands were clawed and somehow still looked delicate in an odd disconnected way. The darkness that was his hair fell down his back freely and even at the annoyance he treated it with, it still fared well enough that it just added to the overall beauty.

Ashido wasn't in love with him.

(He wasn't sure he still had the ability to love like that. Freely and without remorse.)

It was just that Hibari held this ageless kind of beauty and grace, like looking at sunrise at sea or having tea alone, quiet and peaceful. It was a contradicting kind of beauty, one that was exaggerated more by the sheer otherworldly feeling he gave off.

He was easy to get lost in and while Ashido was proving to be... fond of him, it wasn't love.

Hibari didn't give any indication of noticing his presence but Ashido was sure he was still very much aware of him. He'd been cautiously around him long enough to know that nothing ever truly surprised him. If he hadn't been so attuned to all things Hollow, he probably would have imagined that Hibari could somehow see the future, but as it was, he knew that the Hollow just had a very impressive range of sensing abilities.

It was still kind of terrifying, though.

Once Hibari had eaten to his content, the gory image sealed in Ashido's memory like so many others (and it was just unfair, that he could look freaking _elegant_ while eating flesh) Hibari made his way over to him and gave him a demanding look.

"Water." he said, and yes that made sense because he was covered in blood and sinew, but it was still odd and unsettling to hear him ask for something. Not that he ever actually asked.

Ashido nodded his head and summoned a ball of water in the air, already knowing what he would be told to do next but waiting anyway. Eventually, Hibari lost his patience and demanded, "Pour it over me."

"Of course." Ashido mumbled and let the ball of water move through the air until it hung precariously over the terrifying form of the Hollow, where he then gave up control of it. Immediately, the water fell, once again under the thrall of gravity and Hibari was completely drenched by the end of it. Luckily, it had done its job and Hibari was no longer covered in blood, even if was now wet to the bone. Ashido knew what would come next, and he wasn't wrong, as Hibari immediately sought his way to a sturdy looking tree, climbed it, settled on a wide branch and fell asleep. That didn't change the bizarre nature of it.

But he'd found that nothing ever did, everything about Hibari was bizarre and that was just the way it was.

Logic didn't seem to exist to him. Or, if it did, it was so twisted and strange that only Hibari could actually understand it.

— —

Kyouya woke up well rested and happy in the tree he had slept in. On another branch below him was Ashido, seemingly deeply asleep.

Kyouya didn't bother with waking him as he jumped out of the tree, utterly unconcerned about what he could be jumping down on. He absorbed the impact without any ill effects and stalked off through the trees. The constant hunger he was plagued by as a Hollow was annoying, especially as he could feel his power growing with every bite he took.

He wasn't far from evolving into a Vasto Lorde now.

His excitement meant that flashed through the trees faster than he ever had before in search of food. Both his Flames and his reiatsu spread out around him as far as it could go to catch a trace of prey and a bloodthirsty grin twisted his lips behind his mask as he felt the tug signifying he'd found something of note. Abruptly, he changed directions and shot off after it.

Honestly, the Forest of Menos was a far more enjoyable place than he'd anticipated. He hadn't this much fun in ages. Even Tsunayoshi, for all that he was a marginally good mafia boss, had all these annoying morals and kept trying to reign Kyouya in, saying things about property damage and psychological trauma, like that was actually something he bothered with outside of Namimori.

Clearly, everything he did made perfect sense.

The Hollow was a fair distance away, hidden in an annoying cave system that Kyouya entered without hesitation. He left an imprint of his Flames on the floor as he walked in case he against logic got lost and didn't worry about it any more. Eventually he reached a dead-end, where the Hollow he had been tracking was standing already battle ready.

It was a vicious looking Hollow with a blank white mask and black eyes looking out from it. It was at least twice the size of Kyouya with its power level putting its rank at adjuchas. Its limbs were bulky, with powerful muscles and its fingers were tipped with long menacing claws, thicker than Kyouya's.

It didn't change anything.

See Hollows, when they fought, had a certain style. The more powerful the Hollow, the more they relied on brute force. In groups, they tried to overwhelm their victim with either numbers or power and even lone Hollows were prone to doing the same thing. Kyouya had no doubt that it was different for the Vasto Lorde's, but this was an adjuchas, if a particularly powerful one. It might even be closer to evolving than Kyouya himself was. If that was the case, eating it would definitely be worth it.

On the other hand, this meant that the Hollow would be desperate to eat him as well.

Kyouya was well aware that he was fucking powerful.

It was kind of amusing, actually, the way the Omnivore and his herd honestly believed he wasn't aware of it.

Kyouya didn't bother with introductions or other useless shit, they both knew why he was there, and instead went straight to the offensive.

His tonfas appeared in his hands with barely a thought and with a flick of his wrist, he threw one of them straight at his enemy. He didn't pause to see if it hit (obviously it wasn't going to) and just ran after it, right to his prey.

The following movements were too fast to be seen.

Claws met tonfa, legs met flesh and at some point, overpowered cero's were fired. There was biting and clawing, roars and screams of pain. Kyouya spun and twirled around his prey, waiting for it to tire and weaken. There was a vicious wound in his side, but that was from a cero so it was fine and it was already healing anyway.

Kyouya had no problem with tiring his prey out and taking advantage of its weakness.

Eventually, after fighting for several hours, his prey was exhausted and getting increasingly desperate, a combination that was never any good.

Kyouya felt a victorious roar catch in his throat and laughed behind his mask. The Hollow was, as calculated (actually it wasn't, Kyouya rarely planned anything. He just went with the flow.) distracted and lost whatever focus it was using to stay fighting. In a flash, Kyouya was beside it, an insane grin twisting his features into something out of a nightmare.

He didn't waste any time.

He brought his face down and tore a bite right out of its throat.

— —

Starrk stared dubiously at the fortress in the distance.

It was large, annoyingly white and completely inconspicuous.

It was also currently occupied.

The most dangerous was the Vasto Lorde in the center of the fortress.

Starrk didn't doubt his ability to defeat it, but considering the amount of reishi he could feel from it, it wasn't going to be easy. If it wasn't for the fact that he had spent the last several months on a search for a good base, he might even had let the Vasto Lorde live, because it was a laughably rare thing, when he found Hollows capable of being in presence. However, as relaxing as it was to just wander the desert, he'd gotten the impression that Kyouya didn't remember things that weren't of interest to him and Starrk didn't know how long he would be seen as interesting to the other Hollow. He didn't want to risk it, not when he'd finally found someone he liked.

At his side, Lilynette snorted at him and demanded, "So? Are we going to do this or not?"

Starrk let out a sigh and answered. "Yes, yes we are. We've come this far, haven't we? There's no reason to stop now."

"So you say, but I know how lazy you are. Are you sure this Hollow is worth it?" Lilynette stared up at him with hard eyes but he knew that she didn't disagree.

They were the same soul, after all.

He rubbed at his eyebrows and sighed again. "He's worth it."

Again they turned to the sight in the distance, where dozens of different reiatsu were gathered. The fortress loomed in front of them, a grand sight befitting of a king.

Starrk had chosen his side and come hell or high heaven, they were going to come out on top.

— —

Kyouya sat on the cold cave floor, several hours after the end of the fight. For once, he wasn't hungry or felt the pressing need to kill.

For once, he could think clearly.

The instincts were still there, of course, but they were no longer all he could focus on. They no longer dominated his mind, pushing all other thoughts aside.

From the entrance to the cave, steps sounded as Ashido made his way inside. When he came upon the sight of Kyouya sitting on the floor next to a pile of bones with clear teeth-marks on them, he stopped but didn't say anything. Instead, Ashido paused long enough to take everything in before he tried getting closer to Kyouya, one hand on his sword.

His steps were silent as he closed in on Kyouya, not a whisper to be heard.

Eventually, Ashido started speaking. "Your power is leaking out all around the cave, Hibari."

Kyouya thought about the statement and closed his eyes as he wondered about it. And yes, he could feel it, his power saturating everything around him, flowing for several kilometres in every direction. The massive power increase when becoming a Vasto Lorde was underestimated, he thought, as this was much more power than he'd imagined. It didn't change a thing though, it was still exactly what he was looking for. And maybe now Starrk would actually fight him seriously. But he would have to get used to his new power first, learn to control it.

It wouldn't do for him to be controlled by it.

"We'll be going to the surface soon." Kyouya's voice left no hesitation to be had.

Ashido nodded and sat himself down on the other side of the cave, a fire already starting to grow between his hands. He let it grow for a while before he shoved it down on the firepit in the middle of the cave.

Kyouya let his mind drift, his attention slide away.

He was a Vasto Lorde.

There was a notable increase in his power, just trying to reign it all in required all his concentration. His hunger had finally been sated, the haunting awareness that he could devolve gone from his mind. There was no longer a desperate knowledge that growing more powerful, that evolving, was all that mattered.

For once since he died, his mind was at peace.

Across from him, Ashido was cooking something to eat, though Kyouya had no idea where it came from. But for once, he found that the idea of eating human food didn't make his stomach turn.

With a silent mind, Kyouya smiled to himself as he laid down for a nap.

For once, it was just a smile.

There was anticipation starting to grow in the pit of his stomach, for what was to come.

It would surely be an enjoyable ride.

He couldn't wait.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The haunting sound of the vast nothingness that made up the majority of Hueco Mundo was daunting. It was the kind of silence that settled into your bones, drowned you and then stabbed you while you were down only to smother you while you bled out.

The silence alone could drive you insane.

It was the kind of place where only the strongest could thrive.

Grimmjow snorted at his thoughts, disgusted that he had once again drifted off into the labyrinth that was his mind. Seriously, there should be a sign or something when you came to Hueco Mundo, warning of the inevitable death by boredom.

If there had been a sun in this place, he would have been comfortable, but as it was, he was just lazying about on the sand while waiting for his minions to come back from their hunting. Usually, he'd go with them but lately the _nothingness_ had started getting to him. Oh, he was still going to become a fucking Vasto Lorde and be the King of this useless desert, but for now he'd found that he'd started losing his motivation to do shit. It was fucking annoying.

Recently, there'd been some kind of massive swell of power in the desert, so powerful that the very air had trembled. Undoubtedly, it was a Hollow evolving into a Vasto Lorde and wasn't that just fucking unfair?! Here he was, desperately eating every shitty soul he came upon and still he hadn't evolved and yet someone else takes the leap and becomes more fucking powerful than him!

It was ridiculous! And unfair! And absolutely _fucking_ useless to him. There was no way he'd be able to defeat a Vasto Lorde, he was arrogant yes but not fucking stupid!

He rolled over and let out a loud groan at the path his train of thought had taken. Like it mattered what he thought about it, the fact was that there was a fucking powerful Vasto Lorde somewhere relatively close by and if he stepped on their fucking toes he could get killed just like that. Hell, he probably wouldn't even be eaten and damn it all to Hell, but somehow that was worse.

There was just no winning here!

He sighed and let his eyes drift, not paying much attention to his surroundings. Therefore, it was perfectly understandable that he didn't notice the Hollow until they were right next to him.

The Hollow cleared their throat and asked, "What are you doing?"

Grimmjow cursed, feeling himself lose years of his life when he noticed the vast amount of power the Hollow contained, the pressure it put on him. It was all he could do to push himself to his feet. "What the hell do you want? I'm busy."

The Hollow let out a sigh, a strange echo of what he'd been doing and said, "I recently acquired a new home and have found that company would be helpful. It's very large and I don't have the energy to keep it working. However, as it needs to be in working order for when Kyouya comes back, help would appreciated."

"Fuck no! Do you think I'm an idiot?! I'm gonna be the king of this place! Find your minions somewhere else." Grimmjow abruptly turned away from the Hollow, completely ignoring the danger in turning his back to an enemy. Or ally for that matter. A single bite from another Hollow was enough to stop evolving. He was just fucking annoyed, okay! "And who the hell is Kyouya?!"

Curse his curiosity!

The Hollow (a tall man dressed in white with shaggy brown hair and drooping eyes) blinked. "Kyouya is... my leader. And he's far more powerful than you. One day he'll be the King of Hueco Mundo."

Grimmjow froze and spun around to face the Hollow. "Hell no! The only one that's gonna rule this place is me! And what do you mean, he's your leader, you're a Vasto Lorde, aren't you?!"

"Kyouya is my leader and he is going to rule this desert. It would be in your best interest to be on his side." the Hollow didn't say anything more, only turned around to leave, its steps silent. Grimmjow stared after it, stumped by the seriousness he'd seen in the grey eyes of the other Hollow. He really meant what he said. As he watched, the Hollows power surged and then he was gone. A thought hit him and he didn't waste any time, he hurried after the Hollow, running on all fours. Sometimes, being in the form of a panther was especially useful.

But fucking hell, since when were Arrancars an actual thing?!

— —

Kyouya stared out at the desert in front of him, a desolate thing without a single positive point. They'd only been on the surface for a few minutes and Kyouya was already sick of it. He could feel the boredom coming back just looking at it.

At his side, Ashido made a thoughtful sound but didn't bother expanding on it. Unfortunately, Kyouya was bored enough to be interested in whatever it was that had caught Ashido's attention. "What it is?"

Ashido turned to him abruptly at the question but answered instantly, "It's just... it's just been a long time since I saw the sky is all."

Kyouya nodded in response but didn't continue asking about it. The answer had summed up everything he needed to know.

After a few more minutes of just standing around and taking in the sights, Kyouya picked up the reiatsu of Starrk on the outer edges of his sensing abilities. The Hollow was far away, but Kyouya figured that taking the trip would be something to do. He had no desire to fall into the same state of numbness from monotony that he'd been caught in before he went to the Forest of Menos. He had the feeling that if he did, he'd end up doing something drastic, like trying to come back alive or haunting Xanxus. Or maybe Fon, god knew the bastard carnivore deserved it.

Regardless, he could sense Starrk's location, if not the precise distance, so they might as well travel there. It's not like they had anywhere else to be.

Kyouya started walking in the direction the feeling came from and behind him, he could hear the sound of sand shifting as Ashido made to follow him. A throat clearing caught his attention and he glanced back in time to hear Ashido ask, "Do you know where we are going?"

For a second, Kyouya just stared at the mask that stared back at him, as there was something undoubtedly strange in seeing something so blatantly inhuman on what was otherwise a human body, if one covered by fur. "I'm going to pay a visit to a... pet of mine. He's not as fluffy as you, so you don't need to worry about anything."

Weakly, Ashido muttered, "Worry? About what?" but then he continued to speak in a clear tone. "This... pet of yours is a Hollow?"

"Starrk is the only tolerable Hollow I've encountered so far." Kyouya confirmed.

Ashido nodded and Kyouya turned back to the right direction and started walking. There was no reason to hurry, after all.

— —

Starrk watched, amused, as Grimmjow screamed orders at his minions, to get them to help with the cleanup of the fortress after the fight he'd had with Barragan, the Hollow that had fancied himself a king.

The fight hadn't been easy and he'd had to recombine himself and Lilynette, but in the end he had been the one to win. As a result, he'd eaten the other soul. The one thing he hadn't imagined was that he would evolve once again because of it. Oh he knew that Arrancars existed, in his younger days he'd even met one, but he also knew that it took an enormous amount of power to naturally evolve into one without outside interference. Apparently, it seemed that his and Barragan's powers combined was just enough to make that jump. He looked forwards to Kyouya's reaction to it.

Still, the result was that the fortress was half rubble.

Which was where Grimmjow and his minions came in.

Starrk had no desire to be in charge of anything, nor did he want to recruit more minions. Grimmjow, on the other hand, wanted to be King of Hueco Mundo and was perfectly happy to hunt down potential minions and boss them around. In fact, he enjoyed it. And considering that his help was appreciated, Starrk had nothing against letting him be in charge of training them and making use of them. When Kyouya finally arrived, he had no doubt that he'd be interested in Grimmjow. After all, Grimmjow was in the form of a blue panther and he knew that Kyouya had a weakness—if it could be called that—for animals, especially the deadly ones.

Now, it was only a waiting game.

Starrk leaned back on the pile of pillows that Lilynette had gotten him from the living world and yawned. Maybe it was time to take a nap.

— —

Ashido dutifully followed behind Hibari as they made their way to the fortress in the distance, a grand sight that had appeared recently as they traveled to Hibari's pet Hollow. Well, Ashido doubted that pet was the right term for it but it was hard to think of Hibari as someone who had _friends._ The best comparison that he could come up with was companions, but even that was somehow inadequate. Well, they got closer to the fortress every day, so he supposed he could figure it out when he met this mysterious Hollow.

But still, he wondered.

(What was a Hollow that Hibari deemed tolerable like?)

He bent his eyes away from the sight in front of him and instead concentrated on walking. They still had a long way to go and Hibari was evidently not in any rush.

They'd get there eventually.

— —

It took them weeks to make their way to the fortress and by the time they were finally there, Kyouya was itching for a proper fight. They hadn't found a single challenge on their journey and Kyouya was starting to suffer from withdrawals. It was getting to the point that he made Ashido fight him every day he was able, which only slowed them down further because they had to make sure to rest and go slower due to all the injuries Ashido got during these fights.

So to say that Kyouya was relieved to see it right in front of them, was a cruel understatement.

Suffice to say, Ashido was far more relieved, but Kyouya chose to be graceful and not mention it.

Ashido still glared at him though.

Thankfully, the large gate into the fortress was open, so there was no need to blow anything up. Considering the fact that Starrk apparently lived there, as he had never left it while they traveled to it, he had the feeling he'd be pissed if anything happened to it. On the other hand, Starrk wasn't the kind of guy to get emotional so maybe he wouldn't care at all.

Kyouya entered through the gates and made his way inside, Ashido a limping companion at his side. He could feel several presences inside the fortress, Starrk being at the almost center of it. Kyouya didn't give any of the Hollows they passed a second glance, most of them so weak they weren't worthy of his attention and instead concentrated on finding his way through the many turns and twists to get to the Hollow he was itching to fight with. The fortress reminded him of the Vongola mansion that he always visited after missions to provide the Omnivore with reports. For some reason, the Omnivore always looked pained when he received them, which was part of the reason that Kyouya didn't have anything against giving them. He still wound't admit that he'd been part of the Vongola though.

He really, _really_ hadn't been.

After many minutes of walking through the fortress, they emerged in a courtyard. It was made up of sand, as everything was in this useless place, and surrounded by it was white walls and columns.

In the middle of it, training a few weaker Hollows, was a Hollow in the form of a panther.

To Kyouya, the world froze instantly.

This was it, this was the fluffy animal he had been missing. It wasn't as small as he would have liked, but the deadliness and fluffiness made up for it.

Finally, being dead was proving to be worth something.

The blue Hollow turned around, no doubt sensing his presence, and it seemed to let out a strange yelp when it saw him standing almost directly behind it. In his enthusiasm, Kyouya had flashed right next to it in less than a second and was in process of evaluating it when it let out a low growl and tried to make itself appear stronger. It was adorable.

Kyouya practically melted on the spot.

He lowered himself on his knees and cooed at it. The sound was strange through his mask, it sounded more... inhuman. Nevertheless, Kyouya didn't let that stop him and continued to stare at was what undoubtedly his present from Starrk, as he'd complained at the lack of fluffy beings more than once to him. "What's your name?"

For some reason, the Hollow made a strange wheezing sound.

Kyouya tilted his head and the Hollow finally responded, in a low growling voice. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. I'm gonna be the King of Hueco Mundo."

"Of course you are," Kyouya cooed again, "I'm sure you're very strong."

The panther hissed. "Are you patronizing me?! I'll have you know I have my own fucking minions! And Starrk promised he'd let me have free reign of the fortress!"

"You can do whatever you want. You're my pet now." Kyouya said, in no uncertain terms, to Grimmjow.

Grimmjow hissed again and spat out a hateful, "No fucking way! I'm not a fucking pet, you asshole!"

Kyouya watched the Hollow storm off in a huff, its fur standing up in anger.

 _So adorable._

— —

They finally managed to find Starrk after almost an hour of wandering around.

By then, Kyouya was still in a good mood from meeting Grimmjow and behind his mask was a happy smile. Not that anyone could see it, which was probably for the better, as it would scare a lesser soul to death.

There was a reason people preferred him to be beating people up in favor of trying to be _happy_. If you didn't die from the terrifying look on his face, you died from the sheer amount of dark beauty that Kyouya somehow still managed to possess in that state. More than one person had had to be transferred to other locations of Vongola operations after seeing him bask in the misery of his victims. It was traumatizing.

There were _nightmares. Nervous breakdowns._

After the first two dozen ones, Tsunayoshi stopped trying to control it and just made sure that Kyouya had a steady supply of as many solo missions as possible. The amount of paperwork he had to do with every persons breakdown was _traumatizing to him._

When they entered the door into the large circular room that Starrk was in, Starrk was in the middle of resting on his pile of pillows. Kyouya didn't waste any time, he'd been waiting for this and while meeting Grimmjow had calmed him down, he still wanted to fight and properly test his new strength. Who better to test it against than Starrk?

His tonfa was in his hands with a thought and then Kyouya was on the other side of the room, smashing one of them down where Starrk's head had been a second earlier.

The fight was on.

— —

By the time they finished their fight, half of the fortress was once again in ruins.

Kyouya panted where he laid on the ground, covered in the blood of both Starrk and himself. They had fought for hours, using every trick they had and Kyouya was exhausted.

It was _glorious._

On the other side of the room, Starrk was in the process of calming down as well. Kyouya pushed himself up until he was sitting and leaned back on his hands. HIs entire body was in pain. His legs were a gory mess that was, thankfully, already healing. He knew that across the room, Starrk was going through the same process, which filled him with a vicious satisfaction. While he hadn't won, he also hadn't lost and he'd given as good as he got. Neither of them got out of it in one piece.

Kyouya looked up when Ashido paused by his side and stated, "This is the Hollow you called your pet."

"Yes," he nodded in confirmation. "But you'll have to be called something else now, what with Grimmjow being my pet now. You two can be my... followers."

"Followers." Ashido said flatly. Kyouya watched Ashido took a deep breath and demanded, "We will be your companions, and that's that."

— —

Grimmjow tore through the hallways that made up the fortress, in his anger completely ignoring that the sounds of fighting had ceased. All around him were Hollows panicking and watching morbidly as all their hard work was undone. Still, Grimmjow was too pissed to be able to process it.

 _That fucking Hollow had called him his pet!_

No amount of deep breaths were able to calm him down, he was furious to the point where he could kill that stupid Hollow. In fact, that was exactly was he was going to do. He'd kill the Hollow and make him eat his _stupid fucking words!_ He'd make him realize who was gonna be the King and then he'd be fucking sorry!

Abruptly, he turned around and started to run towards where he could feel their reiatsu coming from.

He was going to get back at him, damnit!

Grimmjow crashed through the ruined walls into the room and didn't stop to think. Instead, he headed straight for the Hollow that had pissed him off to this point and attacked with all his might. Therefore, it was perfectly reasonable that he was confused when he found himself on his back amongst blood and rubble.

So sometimes, he had trouble sensing was what around him, everyone had trouble with that sometimes!

When he opened his eyes again, not knowing when he'd closed them, it was to the sight of a bloody Hollow above him and glowing purple eyes staring him down. For a moment, all he could feel was terror and the certainty that _he was going to die._

His stomach dropped and he found himself unable to breathe under that heavy stare and the crushing amount of reiatsu in the room was damn near making him drown.

But then the Hollow let go and leaned back, letting him sit up. Grimmjow watched, surprised, as the other Hollow sat back and healed himself. This was the Hollow that had called him his pet, but right at that moment, for some reason, he couldn't summon up any of the anger he had been feeling just minutes before.

Grimmjow let out a growl and demanded, "Why… why didn't you kill me? You can, can't you."

"You're my pet," the Hollow stated in a flat tone. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Stop calling me your pet!" Grimmjow screamed in rage at the Hollow. He hissed out, "I'm a Hollow just like you and I'm gonna be the King. Just you watch me."

The Hollow nodded and their black hair trailed after them on the floor, getting drenched in blood. "Of course, as you're my pet, I'll help you achieve whatever goal you have. If you want to rule Hueco Mundo, I'll get it for you."

"STOP LOOKING DOWN ON ME!" Grimmjow heaved with breaths as he screamed his loudest yet. The stupid fucking Hollow wasn't listening!

"I'm not looking down on you." the Hollow stood up and leaned against the Shinigami at its side that Grimmjow had been completely ignoring in his utter rage. "You want to rule Hueco Mundo. So I'll help you. That's all that matters. I'll make you stronger too, so you won't get killed."

Grimmjow stopped at that. He turned his face back towards the Hollow and stared at him with hard suspicious eyes. "You'll make me stronger? A Vasto Lorde?"

"If that's what you want." the Hollow nodded.

Grimmjow took a deep breath and said, "Don't call me your pet."

Then he left.

— —

Kyouya watched as Grimmjow left, satisfied that they had reached a conclusion that they could both be happy with. If his et wanted to rule Hueco Mundo, then naturally Kyouya was going to do everything he could to fulfill their wish. That's what you were always supposed to do with pets. If you fulfilled their wishes and made them happy, they'd let you play with them all you liked and Kyouya very much enjoyed playing with his pets.

He let Ashido lead him to the wall and leaned back against it when he sat down. His body was knitting itself back together fast, but he could still feel it. The feeling of being torn apart, of a cero almost tearing his arm off, of his ribs breaking and his bones cracking under the pressure.

He'd missed it, the uncertainty of how something would end.

It was freeing in a way, to realize that he would still have good opponents even when he was dead. Next on his list of fights to pick was a Shinigami or three. He needed to find out exactly how powerful they were, after all.

(He was going to get very disappointed if they weren't all at least at the same level as Ashido.)

Starrk wheezed out a breath from his place on a pile of pillows and said, "So I see you've met Grimmjow, Kyouya."

"Hn." Kyouya gave a vague nod in acknowledgement.

Starrk continued. "What do you think of him?"

"He's adorable. He wants to get stronger and rule Hueco Mundo." Kyouya couldn't resist talking about his new pet. He still missed Hibird and Roll after all, and Grimmjow was like a beam to the soul. It was relaxing.

"I knew you'd like him." Starrk commented.

— —

In the world of the living, Urahara Kisuke was watching as Kurosaki Ichigo hunted down another Hollow on orders of the Kuchiki girl. While Ichigo had only had his powers for a week, he was already showing great promise and Kisuke was, for the first time in a century, feeling hopeful that there would finally be an end to Aizen's horror.

After he'd been exiled to the living world he'd spent decades trying undo what Aizen had done towards the Vizards, but even his best efforts—his most promising ideas—had led nowhere. Nothing he'd tried had been good enough.

But Kurosaki Ichigo had promise and potential and the best of his parents.

Yoruichi (in her cat form of course, it had been years since she'd last been in human form) jumped up on the roof he was standing on as he observed Ichigo practice his powers and sat down. Her voice, when she finally talked after several minutes of silence, was that of a man, just as unsettling as the first tie he'd heard it. "So you really believe that Kurosaki can beat Aizen?"

"No," he started, "well I wish him too. But I believe he can stop Aizen in his tracks long enough for me to seal him away. It's the best we can hope for. After all, despite his power and potential, Ichigo is still only a fifteen year old boy."

"A boy you expect to save the world." Yoruichi's cutting tone made him vince, but Kisuke was already well aware about how immoral his plans were and he'd chosen to do this. The game had already been set in motion, and it couldn't be stopped now. Even if he wanted to.

"You know what's at stake, Yoruichi-san. This has to be done. It's regrettable that he's so young and that Isshin hasn't been training him like he was supposed to, but... we can't stop this now. The ball has already started rolling and I'm sure that Aizen knows where I hid the Hougyoku. It's only a matter of time now when he makes his move. We just have to make sure we're as ready as we can be." Kisuke's voice was tired when he finally stopped speaking. He was sure of it, that it was only a matter of time and as much as he wanted to be optimistic and claim that Aizen wouldn't find the Hougyoku or that Ichigo would be able to defeat him, he had run out of hope for that a long time ago.

The world was unfair and Aizen had an unbeatable Zanpakutou.

He didn't have much hope of being able to win.

But Kisuke wasn't about to go quietly. No, if he was going to die, he was going to do so gloriously. He'd make sure it meant something.

It was all you could really do in the end.

"Well!" he laughed at the squeak Yoruichi let out when he startled her, "Let's get back to work. We still have lots of things we need to prepare. And we need to call the Vizards as well. I'm sure they won't want to miss this opportunity to take revenge on our dear friend Aizen."

He gave Ichigo—the boy they had already doomed—one last glance and left together with a pissed off shinigami in the form of a black cat who was hissing threats the entire way back to the shop. He had some calls to make.

— —

In Hueco Mundo, in the middle of tracking down Grimmjow for a playdate, Kyouya felt the winds shift. A fight was coming.

He could feel it in his bones.

It was going to be glorious.

A bloodthirsty smile lit up his face and he watched as Grimmjow yelped when he caught sight of him and immediately made to run away. Kyouya grinned at already having the opportunity to play with his new pet and chased after him without a second thought.

Ah, the wonders of being dead.

* * *

 **A/N: So, just to be clear, there is not going to be any kind of romantic relationship with Grimmjow. Kyouya considers him be his pet panther. He's just the kind of Hollow that enjoys to spoil and** **pamper his pets.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Kyouya let a pleased smile drift across his face behind his mask as he put down his piece on the shogi board and won the game. He hummed in contentment as he grabbed his cup of tea and drank from it delicately. On the other side of the board, Grimmjow growled at him in annoyance form losing for the fifth time in a row. Spending a quiet afternoon together with his pet was something that he had missed and he found himself pleased that Grimmjow's minions were able to procure items from the Living World without any hassles, even though the knowledge that they had likely done so illegally didn't sit that well with him. Rules were to be followed after all.

Then again, Kyouya was dead so it wasn't like they were breaking _his_ rules. Perhaps allowances could be made, in part due to the successful result.

Of course, it would be an entirely different thing if they weren't successful.

He sipped some more of the tea, watching with mirth in his eyes as Grimmjow futilely tried to make sense of where he'd gone wrong. He was well aware that the only reason the other Hollow had agreed to play shogi with him was because he had promised he would train with him after and it was amusing to notice that he seemed to have forgotten it in his frustration over losing. Though Kyouya had no intention to go back on his promise—he said that he would help his pet become a Vasto Lorde and so he would—it didn't change the fact that Grimmjow, even in the form of a panther, was amusing to spend time with. It was fun playing with him, especially as his reactions were always so extreme.

Kyouya put the cup of tea back down on the table and shifted as he felt his bones protest after sitting still for so long. They had spent hours playing together and still, Grimmjow had not mentioned training even once.

Well, naturally speaking, Kyouya had excellent taste in pets.

He cleared his throat and the loud "Shh" that he got in response form Grimmjow only amused him further. "Grimmjow, you haven't changed your mind? You are still determined to be the King of Hueco Mundo?"

"What?!" Grimmjow erupted at him and snapped his head up, the blue of his fur catching in the light and twinkling happily. "Of course I am! I've told you a thousand times, I'm gonna be the King and that's that!"

Kyouya nodded in satisfaction at knowing his pets mind hadn't changed. "Good."

Grimmjow continued to mutter under his breath about people doubting him but Kyouya was no longer paying him as much attention. Knowing for certainty that his pets dream was to rule Hueco Mundo, Kyouya was determined to make it happen. He wanted his pet to be happy after all, then they would let him play and cuddle with them.

The question was, how did one go about ruling a dimension as vast as this endless desert?

The fortress was a working base, if one slightly overkill, and Grimmjow left regularly to gather more minions, especially as some occasionally got caught in Kyouya and Starrk's sparring and sort of… died. And were then eaten, because Kyouya didn't believe in wasting resources.

But they would need a far greater force as trying to rule anything always resulted in fighting of some kind as someone inevitably tried to resist, no matter how futile it might be. People will always find something to fault, something to be unhappy about and a new order was a prime target. Kyouya put his masked face on his hand as he leaned his weight on the table in thought.

He opened his mouth and said, in that inhuman voice he had gotten used to, "Grimmjow, gather the minions will you? It's time we created some hierarchy around here."

Grimmjow abruptly turned around to face him again and a gleeful look fell over his face as he grinned in excitement. He yelled orders for the minion that had been moving the shogi pieces for him to follow and left the room with his tail drifting behind him. Kyouya watched him go with a relaxed look, knowing that he was taking care of his pet properly, now that he had neither Hibird or Roll, pleasing him.

Kyouya smirked behind his mask. Things were about to get… _interesting._

— —

Kisuke yawned behind his paper fan as he relaxed in the underground training facility under his shop. Some meters away, in a deep hole, Kurosaki Ichigo was desperately trying to stop the corroding of his soul chain as he was slowly going through the process of hollowfication.

Nevertheless, Kisuke was relaxed, confident in his ability to kill Ichigo if it came to that.

The kidnapping of Kuchiki Rukia by the hands of her brother was right on schedule, although he hadn't been entirely sure that Byakuya would be the one to retrieve her. He felt kind of bad that he was using her in his schemes, but really, he didn't have a choice. As confident as he was in his power he, sadly, didn't have the ability to be in multiple places at once and he knew that the Visored would be going straight for Aizen at the first opportunity and as such, as much as he didn't like to admit it, they would need the Gotei 13's help to defeat Aizen and the fastest way to get them to realize his traitorous nature would be to make it obvious in such a way that they couldn't ignore it. Like if he took the Hougyoku from Rukia's corpse.

Of course, he had his reservations on this plan, especially if Aizen managed to _use_ the Hougyoku, but they were backed into a metaphorical corner and were out of options. The Visored were regarded as enemies and were to be killed on sight, and he himself was exiled. No-one was going to believe them if they tried to claim Aizen was a traitor. Hell, they'd only end up getting laughed at.

So really, this was the only option.

He did feel kind of guilty though, for breaking Ichigo's trust in him.

However, in this kind of situation, Kisuke felt it would be a lot simpler to ask for forgiveness (even if he wouldn't be given any if Rukia-chan actually died) than it would be to ask permission.

— —

Ashido watched as the sixty or so odd Hollows lined up in front of Hibari who stood with his back straight in the middle of the room. All of them were adjuchas of varying sizes and shapes, masks covering each and every face. All of them were also loyal to Grimmjow and Hibari. As a Shinigami, it was unsettling to see so many adjuchas collected in one lace, loyalty assured and willing to lay down their lives for a single purpose. Granted, there wasn't a Hollow that wouldn't want to be a part of an effort to unify Hueco Mundo, if only out of greed, but it was still an image that inspired unease in him. He couldn't quite lose the worry that they would attack Soul Society.

But then again, Hibari didn't ever do anything he didn't want to and so far he had shown no interest in Soul Society beyond discovering their general strength.

He leaned back on the wall where he stood at the back of the room, from where he had a clear line of sight at Hibari. Ashido tilted his head in thought as he observed the way Starrk and Lilynette were both staring at Hibari and Grimmjow who was scowling (though he wasn't sure how he could scowl, considering he was a panther) next to where he sat on his hunches next to Hibari. Still the unnerving amount of attention that was piled on Hibari spoke of things to come, violent things. He supposed that Hibari really was serious when he said he was going to conquer Hueco Mundo and give it to Grimmjow, solely so he could play with him whenever he wanted.

At the beginning, he had doubted if Hibari truly only saw Grimmjow as a pet, because he went to very extreme measures to keep him happy, but as he spent more time around them, he realized that was honestly all Hibari saw Grimmjow as. He had the same fondness in his gaze when he looked at Grimmjow training his minions as one might when a cat brought back a dead mouse. In short, Hibari was affectionate towards the panther Hollow in the same way one was a cat. Honestly, Ashido was starting to wonder if Hibari actually saw Grimmjow s a very large dangerous cat.

It would explain quite a few things.

After all, in the grand scheme of things, Hibari was a very young Hollow, only about a year old if you didn't count his time as a human. It made sense that he had not realized everything about Hollows, as all he was ever interested in was how they could entertain him.

And now how he could use them to reach his goal.

As Hibari started speaking and explaining the long term goals as well as the new hierarchy (the Hollows were split up into squads of about ten each with their own individual leader who then answered to their own leader, who answered to Grimmjow or Starrk, who answered to Hibari and a direct order from Hibari was to be followed at all costs), Ashido noted the Hollows reactions. Most of them appeared pleased with the changes, although there was those that were unhappy with their new positions. He figured they would be the first to die.

Once upon a time, Ashido wouldn't have thought of death and loss of life in so general terms. If his past self could see himself now, he was sure he would be horrified, but centuries surrounded by Hollows on all sides inevitably changed a person. In the end (unless you were killed by a Quincy) when you died you were reincarnated. You would live on, maybe not as you were, but core values and personality had a remarkable ability to hang on.

If the soul didn't die, could you really say that death was the end?

(And if it wasn't, was it such a horrible thing?)

The thing was that the Shinigami liked the current order, where the Hollows had no sole leader. It made them easy to predict and hunt. When they found out that Hibari had united the Hollows of Hueco Mundo (and wasn't that terrifying, that somehow he was already sure that Hibari _would_ do it?) there would be scouts sent to check it out. Shinigami would come in droves to find out if they could bring Hibari and his rule down and return order to what it was. After all, if there was one thing Shinigami despised, it was change.

(If there was one thing they liked, it was power.)

In the end, unless they settled for negotiations—Ashido couldn't see that happening unless something had changed while he was gone—then there would be fighting. And Ashido wasn't sure he could take up his sword against the people that were supposed to be his comrades.

On the other hand, his comrades had died a long long time ago. He doubted he would recognize many of the current Shinigami.

As Hibari's speech came to an end and the Hollows started breaking up into groups, Ashido pushed himself off from the wall and made his way closer. Once he was within hearing distance of the Hollow he stated, "The Shinigami aren't going to be happy about this when they find out."

Hibari turned his body to face him and Ashido was once again hit by how unfairly beautiful his mask was. A Hollows mask wasn't supposed to be pleasing to the eye, they were supposed to be hideous terrifying things. Hibari's purple eyes showed amusement through the mask. "Hn. I can't wait."

Ashido almost sweat-dropped. He wasn't sure why he had been expecting anything different.

(Maybe they would be going to war against not just other Hollows, but the Shinigami as well. Maybe there would be death and loss and despair. Maybe his fellow Shinigami would hate and despise him. Maybe maybe maybe.)

— —

Starrk walked leisurely through the hallways of the rebuilt fortress. He was pretty sure that Barragan had claimed it had a name, something that started with L, but Kyouya had taken to just calling it Headquarters and Starrk didn't have any objections. It wasn't like it mattered after all.

Regardless, the hallways were a pleasing shade of light grey that were easy on the eyes.

Next to him, Lilynette followed as always. Kyouya had put them in charge of making some kind of map of Hueco Mundo and claimed territories as knowing who had claim to what (and how dangerous they were) would be vital in their efforts to unite the Hollows under one rule and Starrk had nothing against it. It meant that he didn't have to fight and he could sleep as mochas he liked. Unfortunately, it also meant that he and Lilynette would have to leave the fortress to travel the desert, but as they could go at their own pace—Hollows had all the time in the world after all, there was no need to hurry—it was acceptable.

So they were on their way to leaving the fortress, having packed everything they had wanted to bring on an extended trip. They had already said goodbye to Kyouya and Ashido (who Starrk was finally starting to get used to) and there was nothing more to delay their departure. It kind of sucked though, because mapping out Hueco MUndo would likely take years, not counting the breaks where he would report back to Kyouya.

A loud boom caught his attention as smoke filled the hallway. Once it cleared, he could see the form of Grimmjow laying on the ground and pushing himself to his feet, a furious growl in his throat. Walking closer, they could see Ashido through the hole in the wall where Grimmjow had evidently been thrown through. Starrk contemplated, for just a second, if he should say something. Maybe call on their attention and ask them to be more careful or something. But there was no way that Ashido and Grimmjow would be fighting unless Kyouya had deliberately allowed it and injecting himself in it seemed like it would be a drag.

And just the thought of all his future traveling was already tiring him out. He needed a nap.

He and Lilynette watched as Grimmjow growled and took a running start before he entered through the hole to attack Ashido. Starrk yawned, considered it for a second and than slowly started inching his way forwards, trying not to attract any attention. He peered through the hole as they passed it and listened to the growls and deadpanned instructions coming from inside. It seemed like Ashido was actually _teaching_ Grimmjow.

Well, Kyouya had declared to him that he was only uniting Hueco Mundo because Grimmjow wanted to rule it. And it wouldn't do much good if Grimmjow died before he could take over. In that sense, training him was well thought out.

They passed the hole without incident and Starrk let out a breath of relief when they were out of the danger zone. At his side, Lilynette let out a scoff and said, "So that cat can't even beat Ashido. How does he ever expect to be King?"

"Hmm. I doubt that Kyouya will stand for his pet to be weak." Starrk offered. Lilynette gave him a glance that clearly showed how little she thought of Grimmjow. Personally, Starrk thought it was probably jealously. She idolized Kyouya after all.

He breathed out deeply. "Well, let's go before something else blows up."

— —

Kyouya let his head fall on the table with a _thud_. Somehow, for some reason, he was bored again. Of course, trying to unite Hueco Mundo took time and careful preparations, but it was just unfair that he had to be bored as well. Granted, most of the time he wasn't, but Ashido was training with Grimmjow, Starrk had left on a mission that could take years and the rest of the minions were to be weak to play with without damaging beyond repair.

So Kyouya was bored.

He let his fingers drum on the table as he leaned his head on his hand. The boredom was gnawing at him and he didn't like it. It reminded him to much of the feeling of constantly being hungry. If he didn't want to get frustrated to the point where he broke the fortress again, he would need to take matters into his own hands.

There was nothing to really do until the minions were gathered. That only left one place able to provide the needed distraction.

Soul Society.

A slow, careful grin spread on his face behind the mask. It radiated glee and Kyouya chuckled to himself.

Yes, going to Soul Society was clearly the only option.

And maybe he could finally find out exactly how strong the famed Shinigami was.

Kyouya only just managed to stop himself from full on cackling. It was time to have some _fun._

— —

Ukitake Juushirou looked up from writing his reports when the alarm signifying intruders in the Seireitei sounded. He brushed his white hair out of his eyes and pushed himself to his feet as he left his office behind him. As the captain of the thirteenth division his presence would be required and he needed to find Shunsui to find out what exactly was going on.

It had been a long time since there had been intruders.

Shunsui was already on his way to the Captain-Commander's office in the 1st Division when he found him. Juushirou took a moment to look over him and make sure he was alright and when he couldn't find any evidence of injuries, he let his mind relax and asked, "What's going on?"

Shunsui glanced at him as he answered, "Ryoka have entered the Seireitei."

— —

Once through the garganta that had taken him to Soul Society, Kyouya came out on the middle of an lonely road. Everything around him was white as far as the eye could see and when he turned his head, he could see far reaching white towers. He could hear the loud glaring of the alarm as a vote repeatedly flew from the air warning of enemy ryokan having made their way into the Seireitei. So it appeared he wasn't the only one with the idea to break into the Shinigami's stronghold.

As much as he was itching for a fight, watching others fight could be just as entertaining. And he _was_ curious about the identity of the others who had broken in. He wouldn't be able to find that out if he went and started a fight.

Kyouya frowned behind his mask and gave the thought some more merit. He wasn't on a time limit and watching how the Shinigami reacted to these _ryoka_ could tell him a lot about them. It was a good idea, it would be kind of like watching the theater.

Decided, Kyouya nodded to himself and started making his way through the twisted turns and winding roads.

As he got closer to the main streets, he could hear the panic of the Shinigami that had no idea what was happening. He could hear them running and colliding and starting to fight amongst themselves, never a good idea. Most of them weren't worth the trouble of following them to get a good show, so far weaker them him that it was barely funny, but some distance away, he could make out the reiatsu of someone strong. It was moving away from him and by the way it didn't seem to have a destination, Kyouya wondered if they even knew where they were going. But while Kyouya could sense other strong souls, this one was the closest and so Kyouya started following behind them at a decent distance, careful to never be within sensing range.

If they could sense anything at all, because with the way they were walking in circles, Kyouya doubted it.

The Shinigami he was following was slowly but surely making their way towards another fairly strong soul. It was slow going because they kept taking wrong turns and getting turned around. Kyouya was honestly pretty sure they were lost. But following them through dark alleys and shadowy corners was actually kind of fun, so he didn't mind it. It was amusing, the way no-one, even when he passed directly beside them on the other side of a wall, payed him any attention.

He jumped over walls when they were in the way to get to the other wide and crossed short distances on rooftops.

It was like a game.

Kyouya had fun following behind the Shinigami and when they finally caught up with the soul they had been hunting, he could feel the glee and joy in their spirit energy. The reishi of this Shinigami was massive and with the way it was moving, they were probably intending to fight the soul they had intercepted. Kyouya had no intention to intervene.

He jumped between the buildings until he reached one with a direct line of sight, letting him finally catch sight of the Shinigami he had been following and their prey. He ended up sitting next to a young pink-haired Shinigami that had just as much glee in her gaze as the Shinigami she was evidently cheering on. Kyouya looked her over and got the weird sense that she was somehow a part of the Shinigami's reiatsu, a connection between the two he could only half make out.

It was fascinating nonetheless.

Kyouya stared down at the Shinigami he had spent the entire afternoon following, a large built man wearing what appeared to be the standard for Shinigami's together with a white hoari. His hair was twisted up into many part and tied off with bells and there was an eyepatch covering one of his eyes. On the other hand, the soul he'd been hunting was shorter with spiky orange hair and a large sword. Kyouya settled down for a show, leaning back on his hands and relaxing. He kept an ear out for anyone coming close, but most of his attention was on the soon to be fight in front of him. The girl beside him didn't react to his presence.

The Shinigami's (he thought they were both Shinigami, though the orange-haired boy felt like a Hollow as well) talked for a few minutes before they flew at each other.

Kyouya watched, interested, as the boy desperately tried to defeat the Shinigami and came closer and closer to being beaten himself, not even able to cut the skin. As he watched, more and more devastating attacks left them as they tried to beat each other. He gazed on as the orange-haired boy seemed to have an reached an accord of his sword and his attacks got more power.

He was delighted when the Shinigami—who he was almost certain was a captain from what Ashido had told him—responded by taking off his eyepatch and his reishi increased exponentially.

Kyouya's eyes never left them as they fought on, his body leaning forwards as he got more interested in the result. Seeing the boy get up again and again reminded him of the Omnivore, but this boy seemed far more stable and resolute. He found himself grinning in delight when the Shinigami fell before the boy.

He'd found some interesting new toys.

— —

Hirako Shinji looked out at the warehouse that would be their new home.

After a century of waiting, finally the time to get their revenge on Aizen was coming.

(After a hundred years of misery and hurt and rage and _hate_ they would finally have the chance to pay Aizen back his dues.)

Shinji looked on as his family (by choice, by necessity, it didn't matter, they were _his family_ now) rested on various surfaces inside the warehouse. Karakura was a town drenched in spirit energy and he could feel his Hollow relaxing at it, somehow more at ease by it. And didn't that sting, how much easier things would have been, had they not been casted from Soul Society and deemed as enemies.

Even now, after turning the thought over and over, trying to spot everything, he still resented the Gotei 13 and Central 46 for their actions. Once upon a time, he wouldn't have thought it possible, but now he _hated_ the Captain-Commander, not just for what they done to him (protecting that traitor and leaving them in the dust to die) but more so for how it had hurt his chosen family.

A part of him was glad that that bastard Aizen's schemes would finally come to light, if only for the humiliation they would feel.

(They deserved it. The Gotei 13 had done some horrific things during his time and that was just what he was aware of. A power like the Central 46 didn't stay in power by being _peaceful_.)

But finally, things would change and one way or another, Soul Society was going to own up to their mistakes.

He almost looked forward to it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kyouya entertained the notion that maybe the Shinigami were all collectively blind.

 _They were mourning a sword._

Granted, it was a very pretty sword, with a green hilt and a nice shiny blade. But it was still a _sword_.

And they were treating it as if it was dead, being all careful with it and talking about medical examinations.

 _It was madness._

Not that Kyouya had a problem with this, fighting with insane people could be fun on its own, and it was always nice to add a new component to battles. It made it less predictable.

It was just a little bewildering, how people that mourned swords could be feared across the dimensions.

Kyouya watched with interest as people ran around below him in a panic, because apparently the sword was a captain and things just degenerated from there. It was ridiculous and Kyouya was reminded of watching those soap operas that people were always so surprised to find out that he liked. It was hilarious, the sheer amount of drama and clearly Kyouya had done the right thing to come to this dimension, even if he had to be careful not to be seen.

It was free entertainment.

He settled down on the roof he was sitting on and continued watching. All of the Shinigami were dressed in black and they all carried swords at their sides. He knew that there was something special about them, Ashido occasionally called his sword by name when they were sparring, but he'd thought that that was just because he was alone for so long.

As he caught sight of one of the Shinigami with stronger spirit energy, he stood up from where he had been sitting and prowled along the roof to keep track of him. They didn't wear a white haori so presumably they weren't a captain, but they were of decent enough strength and watching headless chickens running around in a panic was only fun for so long. Kyouya kept his steps silent and his presence hidden as he followed behind the Shinigami.

Some time later he found himself in front of what was presumably the fourth division if the number written on the gate meant anything. Kyouya cursed to himself as the mask he was wearing meant that he would have to observe from somewhere hidden and not just sneak in and see it directly. He wondered if he should find some way to get rid of it.

It was worth looking into.

The sound of footsteps made him jump onto the roof and hide himself again.

Well, at least all the drama was amusing.

— —

Hanatarou wasn't sure what was going on anymore.

He'd been doing his duty and when he'd found an injured Shinigami, he'd healed them, although admittedly maybe the sewers hadn't been the best place to do so. But then he'd somehow gotten dragged along on a trip through the Seireitei and now he was watching as the Shinigami he'd saved—who apparently wasn't a Shinigami—fought against Abarai-san.

He was so far out of his depth it wasn't even funny anymore.

(Oh lord, when his captain found out what he'd been dragged into he was going to be put on cleaning duty, he just knew it. He would have to clean spit and blood and vomit and then _he_ was going to be nauseous. This was a disaster.)

He whimpered when one piece of debris from their fighting came a little too close to him and he had the absurd urge to close his eyes and pretend that none of this was real. What had he done to deserve this? A scream jolted him out of his attempt at ignoring reality and Hanatarou shrieked and narrowly dodged out of the way when he was almost hit by another piece of stone. Dear god, he just wanted to go home and _sleep_. He wasn't cut out for things like this.

The sound of fighting filled the air and Hanatarou counted sheep in his head. Perhaps if he wished hard enough, he'd wake up from this nightmare.

It wasn't working.

— —

Grimmjow prowled through the fortress in search of prey.

He was bored, irritable and frustrated. That damn bastard was nowhere to be found and questioning a minion only brought to light that not even Ashido knew where he was, which meant that Ashido was even more irritable then him, which was just a bad combination all together. The last time they'd sparred (well more like fought with real intent to kill each other) they'd nearly blown a hole straight through the fortress and now they had agreed not to come close to each tore unless they had news on Kyouya's whereabouts.

It pissed him off!

That damn fucker had promised that he'd help him get stronger and then he just took off! Who the hell does he think he is?!

Grimmjow was going to kill him, he was going to tear him piece from piece, he was going to chew on his probably horrible tasting flesh and _he was going to enjoy it._ That'd teach the stupid bastard. Except that would be really easier to do if he _fucking knew where the hell he was!_

Damnit! Damnit! _Damnit!_ He was gonna kill him!

This was it, this was the end of his patience and he was going to kill him! It'd be bloody and glorious and he'd probably die trying but he was going to make freaking history. There would be songs written about it.

An unfortunate minion squeaked when they got sight of his murderous aura but didn't make it out in time. Within moments, they were dead and Grimmjow was angrily snacking on their corpse. There was going to be revenge and murder and fighting to be planned, now all he had to do was track the damn bastard down. And just because, he was going to take Ashido with him when he found him, because he just couldn't stand hearing the fucking asshole keep sulking about being left behind! It was ridiculous and moody and the broodiness alone was enough to make him want to kill himself.

Grimmjow was going to get the bastard back for leaving him behind if it was the last thing he did!

 _Blood was going to be spilled._

— —

Kyouya woke up from his nap with a yawn and stretched out his limbs to work out the kinks. He pushed himself up until he was sitting on the sturdy branch instead of laying on it and half-hearteadly pulled his clawed hands through his long hair. It was annoying and useless and if he let it be it'd only end up getting tangled, but he'd found that he enjoyed the look on peoples faces when they tried to grab his hair in fights and didn't succeed. It was amusing, watching the hope fade from their eyes.

Once he was sure it wasn't at the point where it'd strangle him, he jumped down from the tree and went to find another Shinigami to see if he'd missed something when he was taking his nap. It was unlikely (he would have woken up if a large amount of spirit energy he didn't know was close to him) but who knew.

He made his way through the dark corners and shadowed alleys to make sure he wasn't seen at the same time as he hid his reishi.

Kyouya enjoyed the morning air and the smell of sunlight as he twisted between buildings, jumped over walls and crawled along rooftops. The freshness of the air, lacking the dryness that he'd grown used to in the last year, was refreshing and relaxing. His tail, black as it was, brushed the ground behind him occasionally, but Kyouya didn't bother with it. He'd grown used to it as well. Making his way towards a strong collection of souls on top of a hill, he vaguely thought back to the last days he had spent in Soul Society. It had been amusing and entertaining and watching them run around hunting after souls that had apparently broken in was hilarious. They had made complete fools of themselves.

And while Kyouya still very much had the urge to fight with Shinigami to judge their strength for himself (and also because he just really liked fighting) he'd been patient. He hadn't revealed his presence to anyone and instead stuck to playing an observer.

He emerged on top of the hill just in time to witness as the same orange-haired boy from before held back a giant flaming bird and stole the young girl that was tied to the top of the massive wooden structure. As the Shinigami were all thoroughly distracted by the spectacle the boy was making, Kyouya walked out of the trees and sat himself down on the ground behind the others. He wondered how long it would take them to notice him, even if his spirit energy was still hidden.

He watched as the girl was thrown from several meters in the air down into a redheads arms who barely managed to catch her. Kyouya's eyes glowed in interest as he witnessed the dramatic speeches of friendship and forgiveness and the resulting chaos when the giant bird did nothing. He was thoroughly entranced int he story being spun when a voice echoing throughout the entire Seireitei filled the air.

 _Betrayal. Aizen-taicho was alive and a traitor. The Central 46 were dead._

This just got better and better with every passing moment.

Kyouya grinned behind his mask as the people on the hill with him erupted in panic and denial. The confusion and rage they felt meant that they didn't take any notice of him, especially as he was sitting on the ground and not attracting any attention. He had a very good vantage point for all the expressions of despair and rage.

The entire thing unravelled even further when the newly identified Aizen arrived at the scene.

A white-haired man took a step forwards and asked, "Is this true, Aizen-taicho?"

The brown-haired man in glasses and wearing a white haori chuckled darkly. "I would think that'd be obvious."

Kyouya watched, interested, as the white-haired man with the long hair swallowed loudly and steeled his nerves as he brought his sword up. Aizen chuckled again. "I'm not here to fight you." he said.

"Then why are you here?" demanded the other.

"For this." then Aizen grabbed the short girl who had been about to be executed, hung her in the air from one hand and brought his other straight into her chest. When he pulled it out again, it was holding a partly transparent stone.

Kyouya could feel the power it was emitting.

 _He wanted that stone._

It was pretty and powerful and it had been torn from the chest of a weak Shinigami. The question was, should he take it now, or wait and see what happened? He was curious to how this would play out.

After that there was fighting and Aizen proving he was stronger then everyone else there together with a needlessly long monologue. As Aizen was coming to the end of his speech of his superiority, a giant crack opened up behind him. It held nothing but darkness and the various Shinigami all knew that it was a garganta. For a second, Aizen looked vexed before he smoothed it over. Everybody's eyes were on the opening from Hueco Mundo and Kyouya saw the confusion when the figure that stepped through (despite being dressed in furs and covering their face with a mask) was clearly a Shinigami. The figure stopped just outside of the portal before it took a step to the side and made room for another being, this one clearly a Hollow in the shape of a blue panther.

Grimmjow didn't waste any time.

"BASTARD! Leaving me the fuck behind, who the hell do you think you are?! I'm gonna kill you!"

Kyouya climbed to his feet and calmly answered with, "I left a note."

A cero shoot through the air and passed his cheek as he tilted his head out of the way, leaving a faint scorch mark on his mask which immediately disappeared. By now, all eyes were on him and faces were twitching as they realized they had completely missed his presence. If Aizen had been a lesser man, he'd have blushed out of embarrassment. As it was, he just fumed silently as more cracks in the sky formed his getaway. As Aizen and his two accomplices were levitated into the air and protected by shields made from Hollows, Kyouya very calmly leaned out of the way of another cero.

The Shinigami that had been hesitating brought out their swords when faced with a clear enemy and the Captain-Commanders voice cut through the air as he demanded, "Who are you?"

Ashido turned towards them form where he had been watching Grimmjow futilely attacking Kyouya. "Ashido Kanou."

The Captain-Commander leaned more heavily on his cane. "You will all be brought in for questioning and executed for your crimes."

Kyouya let out a deep breath and said, "Hn. The show's over, let's go back. We still have more work to get done."

Ashido nodded and stepped back through the garganta as Grimmjow and lastly Kyouya followed after, effortlessly batting aside an attack to his back. The crack sealed itself up after they are through.

"Well..." Shunsui mused in the stunned silence. "that went well."

— —

Ashido kept a careful eye on Hibari as he followed after him through the winding hallways. At Hibari's side, Grimmjow was loudly complains about broken promises and boredom and Ashido observed their motions carefully. He wasn't sure when he'd gotten attached enough that he was _hurt_ when he was left behind without notice, but it was unsettling and weird and he didn't like it.

Eventually, he couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Why did you leave?"

"Hn. I was bored." Hibari didn't stop walking as he answered, nor did he look back.

"Then why did you leave alone, why didn't you take me with you? What if something had happened?" Ashido added in a monotone voice.

At that, Hibari finally stopped walking and turned around to face him. "Nothing did. I had fun watching them run around not knowing I was there. I did not need your _help_."

Ashido scowled. "That's not what I meant. I know you don't need me but I thought we were... companions. You could have still taken me with you."

"Hmm. Your presence was required here." Hibari stated and started walking again.

Ashido wasn't sure how he was supposed to take that. Did that mean he was needed _here_ specifically? Or that HIbari just didn't need him somewhere else?

"Stop thinking about it so much. For now, your talents are most beneficial here training the minions. Next time I leave somewhere, you can follow to your hearts content. Now, I have a stone I need to track down." Hibari voiced and continued striding down the corridor. Ashido only hesitated for a second before he resumed following him.

— —

Shinji was at Urahara Shoten when the group of teenagers that had invaded Soul Society returned. He kept himself hidden and out of sight, careful not to let them know he was there. He could here them moving about and talking amongst themselves. There was a tension about them that told him everything he needed to know. Aizen had shown his true face, just like they'd thought. The lure of the Hougyoku was too strong.

It took time, but eventually, the collection of kids left and Shinji came out of hiding. He made his way to the table in the back of the shop and sat himself down opposite Kisuke.

"So, things went well, I assume?" he asked as he poured himself a cup of sake.

Kisuke nodded distractedly. "Mhm, all according to plan. Rukia-chan is still alive as well."

Shinji swallowed to liquid and inquired, "Then why do you look so dejected?"

"Ah, it's just that things are going so smoothly. _Too_ smoothly. And I heard from Yoruichi-san that a high-level Hollow managed to infiltrate Seireitei so completely that they have no idea just how long he was there. He left no trace behind him and if he hadn't left so visibly, they never would have known he was there at all. If Aizen manages to make the Hougyoku work, he can make an army of Hollows. A lone Vasto Lorde is already dangerous enough, imagine if he manages to create an army of them. Or worse, Arrancars?" Kisuke drank more booze directly from the sake bottle.

Shinji rose an eyebrow. "That isn't something we haven't already planned for. Why are you getting nervous now?"

"Kurosaki-kun's young. He's really really young. He shouldn't be fighting in a war that isn't his." that said, Kisuke rose up from the floor and left the room with more bottles of sake in his hands. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was going to do with them.

Staying on the floor, Shinji continued to nurse his own cup of sake. It was true that Kurosaki was disturbingly you, but he was old enough to know that age had nothing to do with death and war. It was about as irrelevant as it could be. What _was_ surprising was that Kisuke was suddenly bothered by it. He hadn't had any problems with the plan when he'd thought it up. Refilling his sake cup, he took another gulp from it and entertained the thought of the consequences of their actions. To be honest, he couldn't it ending well, even if they managed to kill Aizen. The old bastards from Soul Society would still want them locked up, controlled or killed in retaliation for their very nature.

While once upon a time, they might have had the same reaction if it happened to someone else, they had spent over a hundred years in the Living World, amongst wars and humans ideals. Some things had a tendency to rub off. And while they wanted revenge (both on Soul Society and Aizen) they didn't particularly want to go back. Sure, it was a nice daydream and a fantasy that had kept them going at the start of it all, but that was all it was.

They were intelligent enough to know that it was never going to happen.

Not to mention that after the reaction of their friends and colleagues, they weren't sure they really wanted to.

(At the beginning, it had felt like _loss_ and _pain_ and nothing but despair. But they had spent a hundred years as they were and could no longer remember what it felt like to be pure Shinigami's. Even if they someday managed to figure out a way to return to their previous natures, it wasn't something they could lightly do. Besides, who knew how many transformations like that a soul could take before it just... broke?)

With a sigh, Shinji pushed himself to his feet and left the shop. They had preparations to get done before they contacted Kurosaki Ichigo. If the boy was going to go toe to toe with Aizen, then he would need all the help he could get.

— —

A gleeful laugh brought Starrk out of his napped induced concentration. In her hands, Lilynette was holding the letter form Kyouya and Starrk wondered what news it contained that made her so happy. Clearly, it was something big as she was still laughing was clutching it to her chest.

"This is the best!" she yelled to the heavens and Starrk groaned, rolled over onto his other side, away from the sight of a Hollow cackling like a maniac and fell back asleep.

— —

Kyouya smiled, pleased that his minions had done as ordered and gotten the information on where the Shinigami were hidden in Hueco Mundo. Apparently, they had hidden away in the Forest of Menos where they were building up an army. Kyouya wasn't sure what the army was for and he didn't particularly care, the point was that there was one and it needed to be crushed. Besides, this realm belonged to the Hollows, the Shinigami had no business meddling. Well, aside from Ashido, but that was because he had been there for so long and knew how it worked. This Aizen was just making a lot of assumptions one couldn't afford to make in a land as hostile as Hueco Mundo.

The reports on his newly stolen desk were all written by the few Hollows who had the required amount of fingers necessary for writing and holding pens and were thus slightly difficult to read, but Kyouya was just pleased that things had gotten done even while he'd been away. Ashido had taught them well.

Kyouya took a sip from his cup of tea and leaned back on his comfortable office chair.

The project of unifying Hueco Mundo was going according to plan (there wasn't actually a plan, Kyouya was basically just winging it) and things were moving up. The pieces on the board had already started fighting. Starrk's habitually late reports on his new and improved maps of noted territories and strong Hollows was also helpful. He'd already had meetings with a few of the ruling Hollows on it and had received their support. If they were on the fence, the revealing of the presence of Aizen and his cohorts helped them make up their minds faster. No-one liked the Shinigami and their holier-than-thou attitude.

Kyouya had also received reports from a few of the spies sent to Aizen's place that the pretty stone had the power to turn ordinary Hollows into Arrancars.

It was a very interesting piece of information.

It wasn't like Kyouya wanted the stone solely because of this, he didn't doubt that if he put his mind to it, he could easily evolve into an Arrancar. But the stone was pretty and radiated power and really, that Shinigami had done nothing to indicate he deserved to have it. And he'd already promised Hueco Mundo to Grimmjow, a Shinigami with delusions of grandeur wasn't going to ruin that just because he was pissed that no-one ever saw through his illusions.

No, Kyouya was going to get this place unified, put Grimmjow on the throne and find strong opponents to beat and that was that.

He put the cup back on the desk when it was empty and contemplated his next actions. The fact was that Aizen was a traitor and so far they had managed to keep their actions from the Shinigami, but with Aizen fleeing here and making it his new base, they were sure to come looking, if not but to kill him. And when they did that, they would discover what Kyouya was doing. Which, according to Ashido, could have stupid results of giving the Shinigami and Gotei 13 _ideas_. So the question was if he should do something about it himself, or wait and see. Both paths had there merits, but Kyouya was also practically salivating at the idea of fighting and eating someone as strong as Aizen. While the Shinigami was a pain—he reminded him way too much of Mukuro and blasted illusions—the fact was that he was legitimately the strongest Shinigami he'd sensed.

Kyouya really really wanted to fight him.

He leaned his masked head on his hand as he wondered about what to do. He didn't like this indecisiveness. Moreover, time passed differently in Hueco Mundo compared to the other dimensions, although he was unclear how exactly. Who knew how long until the Shinigami arrived. It could be years and he didn't have the patience to wait for a fight for that long. No, he really didn't. It was decided then.

Measures would have to be taken.

— —

In the Living World, panic had once again ensued with the disappearance of Inoue Orihime.

The Captain-Commander wouldn't let them go after her, he had labelled her a traitor and Kurosaki Ichigo was training with the Visored in order to go after her anyway. She was his friend and he owed her anyway, so he would be going to get her and that was that. There would be no but's. At present, he was laying down on the ground in the training room below the warehouse the Visored were staying at, completely exhausted from spending yet another day training hard. Trying to earn to control his Hollow was difficult and every time he failed, it just made him doubt himself and his ability to save Orihime that much more.

But he couldn't afford such doubts. He was all Orihime had to count on. Soul Society had utterly abandoned her.

A bottle of water above his face made him stretch his arm up to receive it and with a _thank you_ he unscrewed the lid and swallowed down large gulps, completely parched. Once he'd drunk his fill, he pushed himself up until he was sitting and stared at Shinji that was next to him. Over the last few weeks, he'd gotten used to the blond's company.

He tilted his head to the side. "Am I getting better?"

The blond smiled in response. "Two seconds longer, kid. That's good news."

Ichigo nodded. "So, do you think I'll be able to save Orihime?"

"I think will play out like they're supposed to. And I think you have more power than you believe. Trust in yourself some more." the blond grinned at him and bounced up on his toes. "Well, if you don't succeed, at least you'll have tried! That's all that counts."

Ichigo watched as the blond made his way to the staircase and started walking upstairs to the ground level. He supposed the man was right. They would be going into uncharted territory belonging to the monsters that he killed on a weekly basis. There was no telling how it was going to go. All he could do was train until he couldn't move and hope for the best. And he wouldn't be going alone, his friends would be with him and Ichigo had the feeling that as long as he had them, he could do anything. It was a little nerve-wracking, how much they trusted him.

But there was no choice to be made anymore. Orihime needed him and he was going to save her.

That was all that mattered.

Ichigo stood on shaky legs and started walking up the stairs as well. He would need to get back into his body and get some decent rest. Soon, they would be leaving.

Soon, they would be saving her.

He wouldn't fail.

(It didn't matter, whatever happened, he was going to succeed. Orihime wasn't a traitor and he'd show those Shinigami bastards how wrong they were.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Should I add humor as a genre? I'm not very good at telling what's appropriate.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Starrk laid on his stomach and watched through binoculars as various low level Arrancars moved throughout the desert. All of them wore white clothing and had swords at their waists. It wasn't hard to figure out that they were in the service of this Aizen that had fled to Hueco Mundo and that the entrance to wherever they were hiding was close by.

To be more precise, the entrance to the Menos Forest was close by.

Not that this was news.

They'd known for a while that he was hidden in the Forest of Menos, but Kyouya could be surprisingly patient when it came to things he wanted. Not that that could be confused with not wanting to fight, but rather, sometimes he preferred the chase. And it was apparently fun, to see the despair and terror in the prey's eyes as it was hunted without pause. Or so he claimed.

To be honest, Starrk was just doing this because it was on the way to another territory.

At his side, Lilynette was watching through a pair of bright pink binoculars as well. Starrk had no idea where she got them.

"So..." she started. "You think Kyouya is going to fight this Shinigami?"

Starrk half-heartedly shook his shoulder. "Probably."

She continued as if she hadn't heard him. "You know, I heard Kyouya pissed Ashido off so badly that Ashido refused to speak with him for a week after he left like that."

"Hmm. If you say so." Starrk answered and observed in boredom as the Hollows conversed with each other.

There was a feeling as if she was glaring at him. "And Grimmjow apparently tried to legitimately kill him."

"Interesting."

The feeling of hostility increased. "I found a pink elephant in the desert yesterday."

"Great."

A murderous feeling was emitted from right next to him. He wondered how he'd pissed her off now. "Kyouya is getting married to me."

"Mhm. Good for you."

Silence.

"I'm going to kill you Starrk! Listen to me when I'm speaking to you!" Lilynette erupted like a volcano.

— —

Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends landed in Hueco Mundo after a couple of weeks of hard, difficult and dedicated training. They were ready to take on whatever horrors Aizen had unleashed and fight until their last breath to save Inoue. They were joined by Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia, two Shinigami's that could also be counted as Ichigo's friends. There was only one problem.

They had no idea where Aizen was.

Seriously. They didn't even have the slightest clue.

Simply put, they were lost.

In the desert.

Of Hueco Mundo, where Hollows lived and thrived.

So, so, _so_ lost.

Ishida Uryuu, a Quincy, let out a breath where he was sitting on the sand and said, "Just pick a direction and start walking. We have to run into someone eventually and with any luck, they'll be willing to talk."

Ichigo threw him a look of hesitation. "What if they won't?"

Ishida raised his eyebrow and his glasses glinted maliciously in the pale moonlight. "Then we make them."

Ichigo turned his gaze towards his hands in his lap and frowned in contemplation. Truly, finding some Hollow to get directions from were probably their only options, but he had the feeling that to get anything from them, they would need to you use excessive violence. He wasn't sure he was comfortable with that. Sure, Hollows were monsters and inhuman and soul eating nightmares, but they were still _souls_ , if corrupted ones. They still held emotions, were still capable of thought and still fought for their own goals, even if more often than not, that goal was to eat human souls. And while Ichigo could kill them when they were threatening the people he cared about and he was the only one present at the scene anyways, that was always done for a reason. Now, they were traveling to save Inoue, yes, but they're still basically invading the place. He didn't think they really had the right to ask for anything.

On the other hand, he'd made a promise, a promise to save Inoue, a promise he intended to keep.

And he wasn't going to let anything stop him.

He rose to his feet. "Alright, let's get started."

— —

Once again, the shogi board was upended in a fit of rage as Grimmjow lost to Kyouya once more. Kyouya watched, indulgently, as Grimmjow proceeded to vent his anger by letting out a few cero's to destroy the room around them. If anyone else had done so in his presence, they would have been promptly bitten to death and then eaten, but as Grimmjow was his pet, he was afforded certain privileges. One of which was to be himself and let his emotions be seen, which was a good thing because he couldn't hide what he was feeling if he tried.

Luckily, Kyouya was fond of both his pets and destruction, so there was no problem.

A string of curses left Grimmjow's mouth and ended with, "And this isn't training you damn bastard!"

Kyouya picked up his cup of tea that had somehow managed to emerge victorious against Grimmjow's rage and took a sip. He then put it back on the partly destroyed table and asked, "Can you win against Ashido yet?"

Grimmjow huffed and his eyes drifted to the side. "Most of the time." he muttered in response.

Kyouya took another sip from the cup. "Once you can defeat Ashido more times than you are defeated by him, I will start your personal training. So the harder you train, the faster that will happen."

"How long are you planning to wait before you make your move on Aizen?!" Grimmjow lost his patience and growled out what he'd been thinking about for days.

Kyouya's eyes lit up with an unholy inner purple fire. "Hn. I like giving my prey a false sense of security. It makes it much sweeter when I kill them."

Grimmjow sat down and huffed again. "You know, sometimes I think you're fucking crazy."

— —

Shinji sped through the desert towards the location of Kurosaki—who was letting so much of his reiatsu out it was a miracle he hadn't been attacked yet—with the device built by Kisuke in his hands. It would locate Aizen's reiatsu to give them a location and Kisuke had had to use blackmail in order to get him to follow after them as he _forgot_ to give it to them. Shinji didn't believe a word out of his mouth, but he wouldn't say no to a chance to kill Aizen. A hundred years of waiting meant that he wasn't blinded by rage, he couldn't go attacking on his own, but the hatred had never disappeared. While he was content, even happy sometimes, with the life he had now, it didn't change the fact that Aizen had ruined a life that he had loved.

(Aizen had ruined their lives and had the gall to laugh at them about it. To go on as if nothing had happened. To take his place as Captain of the Fifth as if he _deserved_ it. Shinji might not be able to kill him, but he was going to drown him in pain for that alone if he could. The wounds he'd caused them had never healed, but they had been able to move on, if in a limited fashion. Aizen wasn't going to ruin their lives a second time.)

(Not if he could help it.)

He stopped running when he caught sight of the very people he had come looking for. They were in the company of two Shinigami's, luckily not some that he recognized. He still harbored enough rage and hatred for Soul Society, that if he had known them, he wasn't sure he would have been able to control himself. Aizen might have torn down their very nature, torn them apart and put them back together with the wrong puzzle pieces, but it was Central 46 and the Gotei 13 that had driven them to the brink of insanity. They could have held on, could have fought to be _good,_ could have tried to control themselves more, but they were ordered to be executed for something that wasn't their fault.

Whatever happened in this war against Aizen, that kind of thing could never be forgiven nor forgotten. They weren't about to ask for forgiveness or beg to taken back by people that despised their nature, their very souls.

(Once upon a time, they had wanted to go back. Once upon a time, they had longed for their families, their friends, their _homes_. Then they had run into a bunch of Shinigami in the Living World and almost gotten killed. They were called _traitors_ and _abominations_ and _monsters_. It had broken something in them, something that had kept them tethered to their Shinigami nature. Without it... well let's just say that if Soul Society burned to the ground, there would be no love lost.)

Shinji stopped in front of Kurosaki.

"Yo!"

Their startled yelps and shrieks were music to his soul. It was always nice to know he could still get one over people.

Kurosaki collected himself first. "What are you doing here, Hirako?!"

Shinji smiled and tried to hide the rage behind his eyes at the sight of the two Shinigami coming to Kurosaki's side. _They_ could be loyal. So why couldn't his friends have been? What was so different between them?

"Urahara made this. It will track Aizen's location and lead us right to him." he explained.

Kurosaki frowned. "Why didn't he give us this when we left? We've been walking around for days with no idea where to go."

Shinji's grin stretched across his face and if there was some spiteful glee at hearing that they had spent days doing nothing, then that was no-one's business but his own. "He _forgot_."

By the way Kurosaki's frown only deepened, he could tell he wasn't buying it either. Well, there was nothing to be done now. They should just be grateful he had given it to them at all. Shinji was sure it was only due to feelings of guilt, though what he was feeling so guilty of, he wasn't sure. Urahara didn't exactly have a lot of morals.

(Urahara had been the Captain of the Twelfth. He had been a member of the 2nd division. Calling him a sociopath would be generous.)

Kurosaki smoothed his face out and stretched out his hand. "Well, thank you for delivering it I suppose."

"Do you even know how to use it?" Shinji got a morbid pleasure from pulling his hands away with the device.

"Well, no but..." Kurosaki started.

"But what?" Shinji demanded. "You'll figure it out? Don't be ridiculous, you don't have time for it." he deadpanned.

"Then what use is it?" Kurosaki questioned.

Shinji grinned. "I'm coming with you."

The look on Ichigo and his friends' faces were hilarious.

— —

Ashido walked through the hallways of the fortress at a pleasant pace. Just as he was about to turn a corner, a loud _boom!_ filled the air.

He sighed, turned around and made his way to scold and potentially threaten whoever had blown a hole through the wall again.

This wasn't really what he had pictured when Hibari had asked him to train his minions.

— —

Kyouya was sitting down on his very comfortable chair behind his stolen desk—which had been replaced because the last one broke when he tried to write with too much strength—when he read the report by Starrk. It revealed the location of the entrance to Aizen's lair and the pretty stone that radiated power that he was determined to get.

By his side, Grimmjow was complaining that the mask was uncomfortable against his tail as Kyouya cuddled it. This was a problem. Grimmjow was his pet and he was hellbent on cuddling him whenever he felt like it.

Starrk had also felt the presence of Shinigami's entering Hueco Mundo, which meant that they were making their move. And with all the fanfare Aizen had gone through to get the stone in the first place, they had to know what it could do. The power it contained. There was no way that Kyouya was letting them take it from right under his nose. He'd already claimed it as his, he just hadn't grabbed it yet.

"Grimmjow, step back." he ordered.

The blue panther Hollow complained about being ordered, but did it nonetheless. Kyouya felt a weird sense of pride.

He stood up from his chair and walked to the middle of the room. Without any fanfare, he grabbed a hold of his mask and tore it off.

The roof was promptly destroyed.

— —

Just as Ichigo and his friends were sneaking into Aizen's hideout, a massive amount of power flowed throughout the desert. It filled the air with a pressure so great that even he felt like he was drowning and he could see his friends (except Hirako who he wasn't really friends with) go down with it. They collapsed on the floor and fought to breathe. Ichigo had never felt anything like it before. Even with his inability to sense reiatsu, he could tell that whoever that came from was insanely strong. Maybe even stronger than Kenpachi.

Once the pressure had lessened and the feeling of drowning and being burned alive at the same time disappeared, Ichigo asked Hirako, "What the hell was that?!"

Hirako looked back to him, as he had been turned away with his face towards where the pressure was coming from, with an odd look in his eyes. "A Hollow just evolved into an Arrancar."

Ichigo frowned as he thought. "You mean like that Ulquiorra guy?"

Hirako's grim face didn't inspire a lot of hope. "Exactly like him."

— —

Ichimaru Gin turned back form where he had been looking at the minions to Aizen. Next to him was Tousen, a giant stick in the mud as always. The power surge had been felt by everyone in the hideout and Gin got quite a lot of gleeful joy out of knowing that someone had evolved into an Arrancar without Aizen's help. It took a chunk out of his ego, at least. Something that he sorely needed, what with all his delusions of grandeur.

Honestly, while Gin looked forward to the day he would have his revenge for what was done to Rangiku with a fervor that bordered on obsession, it was always amusing when things didn't go as Aizen planned. The Hollow that had intruded on Soul Society at his Big Reveal was one of those things.

He still laughed at his face at the time.

It was hilarious.

The sound of the intruder alarm going off made him refocus on reality and not his thoughts. The large image that was displayed on the screen showed Kurosaki and his friends, as planned. And an unexpected addition.

Hirako Shinji.

Frankly, it had been a long time since he'd thought about the Visored. They had gotten screwed over by Aizen though, and it made sense that they would be going off for revenge. They had just as much reason as he did to kill the evil bastard.

Still, it changed things.

Gin looked at Aizen with his eyes closed and his mouth grinning. "Not exactly as you planned, eh Aizen?"

Aizen threw him a condescending look. "Don't be stupid Gin. The addition of a single Visored changes nothing."

"See, that's what you think. But you don't have the Hollows you really wanted in your service." Gin mused.

"That's no concern of yours, Gin." Aizen stated. "The ones we have will do adequately."

"If you say so." Gin looked back at the screen that displayed Kurosaki and his friends bursting through doors and corridors. For once he didn't think Aizen's plan was going to go the way he expected it too. He looked forward to it.

— —

Starrk leaned against the wall. Lilynette was over the on the other side of the room, kicking the crap out of the low level Arrancars that had come to defend their base. It was, to be blunt, kind of morbidly sad. But on the other hand, he and Lilynette was an Arrancar as well, so maybe he wasn't being fair. He'd just gotten used to a certain standard by hanging around Kyouya.

Still, he hadn't even had to help out. It didn't say a lot of impressive things.

And Kyouya had a tendency to ignore things if he didn't find them interesting. So killing all these Hollows were basically a done deal. If they (Lilynette) didn't, they'd just end up getting killed later anyway. Kyouya had no patience for those who were weak.

He yawned and wondered when he would be able to take a nap again. Ever since Lilynette had caught him not listening, she'd forced him to do more work as a kind of punishment. But it just made him sleepier and now he was about ready to drop where he stood. It wasn't like they had anything important to get done anyway. Kyouya was about to make his move, so their presence in the base was basically useless.

But Lilynette looked to have fun where she was killing enemies, so Starrk figured he could let her have some more entertainment before he dragged her away.

Just this once.

And maybe he could take a nap while he waited.

— —

The day they set out on their mission was like any other day in Hueco Mundo. Dreary, cold and dark. It really put a damper on the mood.

If you were human, that was.

For the Hollows that made up the population of the Fortress of Awesomeness (it was a whim of Grimmjow's and Kyouya hadn't cared enough to argue) it was the ideal day to attack an enemy. The sky was cloudless, the moon was full and the few stars that dotted the heavens provided pretty much no light at all. The atmosphere was like a sign saying to attack now.

So the two hundred or so Hollows that had survived the various temper tantrums of Grimmjow, the sparring of Ashido, Kyouya and Starrk and occasional ridiculous missions of stealing supplies from the Living World which had Shinigami that hunted them down like rabid dogs patrolling it, were all on their way to Aizen's base in the Forest of Menos.

They were very much looking forwards to preying on someone else rather than being preyed on themselves. They were fully prepared to take out any issues they had with their bosses on the enemy, as Kyouya had suggested.

They may be a little _too_ eager.

Maybe.

But it was understandable. They had to deal with the insanity of just being in Kyouya's presence and all his ridiculous ideas that always worked out somehow. It was like he had never even heard of the concept of _logic_.

Seriously, they couldn't even trick themselves into thinking there was some kind of sense involved in his thinking anymore. He was just insane. Or just really _really_ powerful, whichever worked best. Regardless, they were about to get a chance to kick ass and take out their frustrations of someone else. They would get to _share the suffering_.

(There might have been some nervous breakdowns. Just might.)

So, it was a dreary, cold and dark day and they were going on the offensive. It would probably turn out well.

Probably.

— —

Grimmjow kept a watchful eye on Kyouya as they made their way through the Menos Forest. The bastard had evolved into an Arrancar just like that.

 _It wasn't fair, damnit!_

He was still a freaking adjuchas and then the stupid fucking bastard that had promised to train him goes and evolves and for what?! Because he said the mask was uncomfortable! What kind of idiot fucking does that?!

Grimmjow was going to kill him just for his idiocy! He would save the damn world and people would be _grateful_ and there would be _freaking parades!_

He felt like screaming. He would share this suffering. In fact, lately Ashido had given him a great way of doing so. Kyouya liked powerful things, so all he had to do was find someone powerful, interesting and pretty and present it like a gift. According to Kyouya's fucked up thought process, he wouldn't be able to refuse it.

And then people would _see_. They would realize what a complete psychopath he was!

Now all he had to do was find someone that fit that criteria.

— —

It had taken all (excluding Hirako who just watched on the sidelines) their combined power, but they had managed to bust through the various levels to get to the center of the base where Aizen would undoubtedly be. They were tired, exhausted and had done things they thought impossible, but they had succeeded. Inoue was almost saved.

There was just one last door between them and the finishing of their self-imposed mission.

Together, Renji and Chad opened the heavy doors and the large empty throne room was revealed to their disbelieving eyes. It was... gaudy. And exaggerated. And way too over the top.

Kind of tasteless, actually.

Ichigo rushed in without thinking in his determinedness to save his friend. His friends followed him.

In the center of the room were three figures. Aizen, Ichimaru and that blind guy.

"Where is Inoue?" Ichigo demanded and waved his sword threateningly.

Aizen smiled. It was sort of disgusting. "No need to worry. Inoue-san is perfectly safe."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "That's not what I asked. Where is she?"

"Not here." Aizen replied.

Ichigo didn't waste any time. He attacked straight on with his sword held high. He was already in bankai. Sparks flew as his swords met Aizen's. In the background, he was vaguely aware of his friends attacking as well, but he didn't have the time to think on it. If he let his concentration go for even a second, Aizen would kill him. And Ichigo had no desire to die.

So he fought, he attacked, let his mask form and gave it his all.

It wasn't enough.

 _Ichigo wasn't powerful enough to win._

It was like a kick in the teeth, that even after all that training, all that preparedness, it wasn't enough. He wasn't strong enough.

Just as he was about to fall, he was caught by Hirako. Hirako with his Hollow mask on. Ichigo watched with wide eyes as the pressure of power around Hirako that he had never actually felt before became so strong it was honestly _visible_.

Despite everything, it had somehow never occurred to Ichigo before that Hirako was _actually dangerous_. He wasn't sure why because now it was pretty damn obvious, but he'd just never been able to imagine it before. Hirako was just always so damn cheerful and over the top and grinning. It was hard to imagine him being able to kill anyone, much less Aizen. After all, the reason they were Visored was because they had _lost_ to Aizen in the first place. And yet, as he stared at him now from where he stood alone on the floor, he couldn't recall what had made him think he wasn't absolutely deadly. As he fought Aizen, and unlike Ichigo every move he made was meant to kill, he looked glorious. He looked like Death.

It was breathtaking.

And a wake-up call in the worst of ways. Because, he realized it now, Ichigo _hadn't_ fought to kill. Only subdue and defeat him and with an enemy like Aizen, the only defeat to be found was death.

If he had continued to fight him, _he_ would have been the one to have died.

Just as Aizen revealed that the Hougyoku was in the middle of his chest and that he would soon be immortal, the doors that had closed after they entered were blown to pieces. A blue panther walked through the wreckage and stared at the image a tired but still fighting Hirako made. Then it said something Ichigo never would have expected.

"You'll do."

— —

Grimmjow blew the doors apart with a single cero in his rage. He needed to kill some stupid shit faces. The Hollows they had encountered on the way in had all been taken out by the minions because they were all disappointingly weak.

The sight he met was like an answer to his prayers. Except, you know, Grimmjow didn't pray to anybody. But the sentiment was the same.

There was a Hollow, only it wasn't a Hollow and sort of a Shinigami except it really wasn't, that was fighting the guy who he had briefly seen when he got Kyouya back from Soul Society. That Aizen guy. And they were powerful and interesting and apparently Grimmjow had disturbed its concentration because they jumped back from the fight and their mask disappeared to reveal a face that was pretty and handsome and other human words. Regardless, it fit his list.

If Grimmjow had been humanoid, he would have grinned in victory.

He'd found his gift.

 _Now someone else would feel the suffering!_

(He might be laughing insanely in his head. Maybe.)

He just needed to catch the thing and then he was _free_.

Freedom, here he comes!


	8. Chapter 8

**This is where the slash warning starts to matter. There will be nothing explicit.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

Kyouya walked into the room Grimmjow had hurried off to.

He let his gaze drift from side to side, taking it all in. The room was half rubble from the fight he and his minions interrupted. The same people that had invaded Soul Society were scattered at different places in the room, exhausted, hurt and fighting for their very lives. The so-called traitors of the Shinigami were fighting as well, though they were noticeably not having as much difficulties.

Now, where was the stone he had come for?

If he found out that it wasn't here, he was going to be disappointed and be forced to deal with his _feelings_ by killing some unfortunate souls. There would be a bloodbath.

Kyouya entered further into the room and observed the various fighters. The one with silver hair that reminded him of a fox was fighting against two Shinigami's, the one with dreadlocks and covered eyes were fighting some humans and the one he had come looking for, Aizen or something like that, was fighting two Shinigami/Hollow hybrid like things. There was the orange-haired boy he had seen in the Seireitei but the other... he didn't recognize him. He had a mask like a Hollow, as did the boy, and felt like a Shinigami in a strange twisted sense.

Kyouya was fascinated.

The boy with the orange hair had potential. One day, his strength might even rival that of the Aizen guy, if he put absolutely _everything_ he had into it. But he wasn't the strongest in the room now, he had not yet reached that strength. That potential power. But the other...

The other was magnificent.

His eyes were caught on him. The way he fought, the power he exuded. His battle-hardened eyes, the way he moved his body like he knew exactly what it could do. The blond hair that fell around his face when the mask disappeared. The way he didn't let anything Aizen said distract him. Kyouya was caught and he fully intended to catch the other in return.

He made his way to where Grimmjow watched the show. "The man fighting Aizen, who is he?"

The blue panther turned towards him and growled out. "How the hell should I know? In any case, he's my present for you, so you can have him as a pet instead of me. Be fucking grateful, asshole."

"A gift?" Kyouya mused out loud. It was very thoughtful of Grimmjow to get him something he liked. And it showed that he did pay attention to him, as he got him something to his tastes. But the man wasn't a pet. Not in that sense that Grimmjow probably meant. And Kyouya wasn't going to exchange one for the other, that was just mean. "Thank you Grimmjow. You are certainly worthy of being my pet."

"Hah?! I just said that I'm switching with that guy! Didn't you hear me?!" Grimmjow demanded.

Kyouya smiled. "Hn. I heard you. But you're my pet Grimmjow, I'm never going to let you go. Certainly not before you're capable of defending yourself against anyone that might try to kill you. Further the more," his smile stretched across his face and changed into something truly demonic. "that guy isn't going to be my pet. He will be my mate."

"What the hell?! Are you going crazy?! You can't just mate anyone you see. Fuck, that guy isn't even full Hollow!" Grimmjow objected loudly.

Kyouya cracked his neck. "That's part of what makes him... interesting."

Grimmjow growled at him, "Fuck you! Fuck you and your insaneness! I hope you go and die in Hell, you fucking bastard! I am so done with your bullshit. There's no way that that guy is going to want to be your mate and I hope you get rejected and feel miserable! Maybe then you'll actually make _sense!"_

"Hn. If you say so." Kyouya ignored Grimmjow's furious ranting. He'd heard it all before anyway and it wasn't anything important. Instead, he stared at his newest interest and the person he had already decided was going to be his mate. Maybe it was too fast and maybe he didn't know him, but none of that mattered to Kyouya. He had never doubted his instincts before and he wasn't going to start now. If his instincts said that this was his perfect mate, then that was the truth. What anybody else thought about it was utterly inconsequential. He just needed to figure out how to get him to agree.

The fighting in front of him continued and Kyouya let his thoughts drift. Once they married, where would his mate want to live? What kind of gifts did he like? And how could Kyouya impress him?

(Kyouya was getting utterly ahead of himself, but he wasn't the kind of person to change his mind once he had decided on something. Maybe, if he found that he absolutely couldn't stand the man, he would reconsider it. Maybe he would change his mind. But Kyouya was rarely wrong about anything and moreover, he was an Hibari. Meeting someone and deciding on the spot that they were the ideal mate, whether you knew them or not, was generally how Hibari's found their spouses. It was how his parents had met. More often than not, it worked out just fine.)

(Maybe normal people worked differently, but Kyouya had never claimed to be anything close to normal.)

"Grimmjow," Kyouya began. "get the minions and get rid of all the followers of this Aizen."

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes. "You better not do anything crazy while I'm gone."

"Hn." Kyouya's eyes glowed with purple flames. "Don't worry. I'm just going to crush some pests."

— —

Outside the room all of the fighting was taking place in, Grimmjow ran into Ashido. In his furious mood, he felt like sharing the misery was an excellent idea.

"We've got orders to kill all the enemies while Kyouya impresses his new mate." he scowled.

Ashido abruptly stopped walking and Grimmjow got a sadistic kind of joy of knowing something about Kyouya before Ashido did. Ashido blinked his eyes and asked, "Mate?"

Grimmjow grinned savagely. "Yeah. Mate. Apparently, he found something interesting in there and now he's determined to mate them. I have the feeling that by the time he's done impressing them, this place will be nothing but ruins, so let's work fast and get the hell out of here. I for one, really doesn't want to see a Kyouya trying to _impress_ anyone. By the time he's finished, there won't anything left."

— —

Kyouya cracked his knuckles once Grimmjow had left. The sound echoed ominously. He didn't waste any time.

In the blink of an eye, he was on the other side of the room and his hand was through the chest of the one he thought was blind. He grabbed ahold of his heart, twisted and pulled his hand out again with the heart still in it. The room silenced as he got the focus of everyone in it. With a smirk, he dropped the heart, still bloody, to the floor and turned his attention to the two Shinigami that had been fighting with the man he just killed effortlessly.

They looked shocked.

Kyouya smiled, a terrifying thing that induced nightmares, and let his eyes drift to the silver-haired man. The man took a weary step back and held up his hands to show he had nothing in them. Kyouya didn't sense any threatening power from him so his gaze switched passed him to the man he had come all this way for. Aizen, who looked shocked and furious at the same time. There was a purple glow coming from his chest and Kyouya was interested to realize that the pretty stone was now _in_ him. He looked forwards to tearing it out of him, as painfully as he could.

He started walking closer to him, purposefully not using any kind of special speed, and stared at the brown haired man the entire time. He saw the moment that Aizen realized he was going to kill him.

"Give me the stone and I'll kill you quickly." Kyouya offered.

Aizen narrowed his brown eyes. "Like you could kill me. I'm the most powerful Shinigami in the world. Your weak power couldn't even hurt me."

Kyouya tilted his head to the side. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Aizen responded.

"As you wish. I'll just torture you then." Kyouya flatly stated.

Kyouya grabbed one of his tonfa with his right hand and ran straight at Aizen. He threw his weight behind the blow and watched Aizen grab the tonfa without moving. Kyouya smiled at him and grabbed ahold of the sword in Aizen's other hand and with a hard twist, made him release it. It clattered to the floor uselessly. He ignored the blood that flowed from his hand. In retaliation, Aizen sneered at him and pulled the tonfa from his grip and threw it behind him.

Kyouya shot forwards the short distance between them and raked his claws down his chest, tearing his clothes to pieces and making blood appear. He watched, fascinated, as the wounds bubbled and healed over and he felt the power of the stone heal Aizen. This was going to be fun.

He couldn't resist smiling.

— —

Shinji stared, his breath caught in his throat, at the Hollow that was fighting Aizen.

He'd never seen anything like it before.

The long black hair, the slim build, the purple eyes that glowed and the sheer amount of ridiculous power that he exuded. The face that was unfairly beautiful for a Hollow, the way he moved with grace and elegance and his smile brimming with bloodlust, something that should make him weary and instead just made him curious. Shinji was spellbound, his attention utterly caught. Was this what people meant when they said love at first sight? But no, it couldn't be. Shinji didn't believe in that, he was far too old to still have those romantic thoughts. But... he was attracted to him. To the strength he showed off effortlessly, the way he had killed Tousen without hesitation. Maybe he was more affected by his Hollow than he'd thought, if he found murder attractive.

(Actually, he had always been attracted to strength, but that wasn't something he had wanted to admit once upon a time. Now they were part Hollows and he found that the Hollow side of him was thoroughly entranced by the spectacle the other Hollow was making of himself.)

(It was unfair really. He wasn't used to seeing Hollows as anything other than wild animals. Or demons.)

The Hollow didn't fight fair. He used claws, kicks and straight up punched Aizen and only seemed more overjoyed each time that Aizen healed. With each wound that closed, with each bruise that disappeared, his bloodlust grew and he became more and more brutal in his attacks. There was no special techniques used, no specific fighting style, he was just overwhelmingly powerful. This was an Arrancar.

And if Shinji wasn't mistaken, it was the Arrancar he—everyone—had felt evolving.

A loud _boom!_ echoed through the room as the Hollow released a glowing purple cero right in front of Aizen and it almost tore the bastard's arm right off. It healed and then Aizen was using _kido_ to plow the Hollow through with lightning. The Hollow didn't even react, aside from growing more vicious. Honestly, with every attack form Aizen that failed and made the Hollow more excited, Shinji was starting to feel more and more sympathetic towards the bastard that had ruined his life. _That had to hurt._

Sure it healed almost instantly, but that didn't mean that the evil son of a bitch couldn't feel the pain.

(Oh, who was he kidding? There was no sympathy to be found in him. The bastard deserved so much worse.)

It wasn't that the Hollow wasn't getting hurt, because he was. It was more like he was utterly unconcerned about it. Even when the various kido tore through him, it was like it only spurned him on, like it just made him more bloodthirsty. It was kind of terrifying, actually.

His Hollow was delighted by it.

Honestly, it felt kind of like the start of a bad romance novel, where the damsel in distress was saved by the dashing prince in shining armor and fell in love immediately, nevermind that the prince was actually a thief only pretending because the power of true love would save them both! And oh, there would be an enchanted happy ending and then twelve kids would be born way too close to each other and the parents would constantly forget their names. And then the middle child would grow up neglected and became the villain of someone else's story.

Only, you know, Shinji wasn't a damsel in distress and the Hollow wasn't even close to a prince in shining armor.

(God, did he actually just think that?! How sappy could he get! It was disgusting! Ugh!)

No matter how hard he tried, Aizen couldn't get to his sword. Which meant that he couldn't use his illusions. Unless, that was an illusion. Damnit, if there was one thing he hated more than Aizen, it was his freaking illusions! He could never figure out how to get out of them. Maybe he should just stay out of the way as the Hollow and Aizen fought it out. Otherwise, he was pretty sure he would just end up being collateral damage.

No matter who won.

So he stayed put and he watched with wide eyes as they fought, their power so pressuring that it made the very air vibrate. The wounds they inflicted on each other, the blood that spilled and the taunting words that flew between them. It was intense and heady and Shinji had never seen a battle like it before.

Something about it was just... _intoxicating_.

Somehow, he wished it would never end.

— —

The battle ended when Kyouya finally managed to get his hands on the stone and tear it right out of the Shinigami's chest.

A strangled scream left Aizen, both out of fury and pain, because having a power like that torn out of you was never going to be easy. And without the stone to heal his injuries, it didn't matter how powerful he was, because even with his injuries, Kyouya was better. More powerful and certainly far more lethal.

It was pretty much a done deal after that.

Kyouya wasn't gentle. He tore into the Shinigami with a viciousness that came out of finally fighting a good battle, one that he didn't truly know if he'd win or not. The Shinigami hadn't been lying when it claimed to be powerful, but it still wasn't enough to deal with a Kyouya that was trying to impress his new mate. After all, his mate had been fighting this guy, so presumably he wanted him dead. And Kyouya could gladly make that happen.

He used his claws, his teeth and his tonfa and anything that he could reach. Let cero's fly and watched them leave his enemy with holes in him that didn't heal. Used his teeth to tear out chunks of flesh that he swallowed and felt the power of this Shinigami fill him. It was glorious and magnificent and _so very worth it._

Kyouya was in heaven.

Eventually, there was nothing left.

Nothing.

Not even a strand of hair.

Everything was turned to dust if it hadn't been eaten, because Kyouya could be petty as well and this man had pissed his mate off _somehow_. Even if he didn't know why, that was still going to punished. In the end, he was erased from existence, because Kyouya had eaten his soul so he wouldn't reincarnated. It was as good as a permanent death that he could do and even if Kyouya did die someday and the Shinigami got another shot at life, he wouldn't be the same.

Kyouya stood up from the dust covered floor drenched in the copious amount of blood that had been spilled form them both. In his hand was the stone he had come all this way for and he looked over to the mate he'd been trying to impress. That should have done it, but Kyouya could easily find someone else to kill if needed. And there were probably more people that his mate wanted dead.

He walked over to his new mate, limping with a half-useless leg that was still putting itself back together. "Hello." he said.

The blond man jumped in shock, like he was far away in his thoughts. He narrowed his eyes. "Hello."

"My name is Hibari Kyouya." Kyouya stated.

"Okay?" the man asked, perplexed.

Kyouya frowned and asked. "What is your name?"

"Hirako Shinji." the man answered with something like disbelief in his eyes.

"Were you impressed?" Kyouya questioned with his head tilted.

The man—Shinji—tilted his head as well. Curiosity was shining in his gaze. "About what?"

Kyouya scowled. "I killed him. Were you impressed?"

"Ah..." the man began. "Sure?"

Kyouya immediately smiled. "Good. Where would you like us to marry?"

Shinji's eyes popped open in shock. "Hah?!"

— —

Starrk and Lilynette reached the battle just as Kyouya finished playing with his food.

The were just in time to hear his proposal.

Starrk practically felt his jaw hit the floor in shock. At his side, Lilynette was shrieking her objections. Kyouya had never even met that guy before! And he wanted to marry him?! What the fucking hell?!

At least the guy being proposed to looked just as shocked, but seriously, exactly how did Kyouya think relationships worked?

— —

Shinji was stunned.

 _He couldn't think._

Did this guy just say what he thought he said? Seriously? Honestly? Was he just asked to marry a complete stranger? His Hollow might be impressed by him and he had to admit he was attractive, but that was no grounds for marrying.

He needed clarification. "What did you just say?"

The Hollow tilted his head as he was the one not making any sense. "Where do you want us to marry? The living world? Here? Soul Society? I'm fine with either."

Silence. Then, "I'm not going to marry you! I don't even know you!"

"But I impressed you. I killed your enemy." the Hollow actually managed to look like it was sulking.

Shinji felt the urge to hit his forehead. What the hell? "I still don't know you. Even if you're attractive, I'm not going to marry someone I don't love."

"Hmm." the Hollow started. "My name is Hibari Kyouya, I've been dead for a few years now, I'm an Arrancar. When I was alive, I ruled a town and killed people. I like tea and sake. Grimmjow is currently my only pet, I lost the others when I died. I'm going to unite Hueco Mundo and give it to Grimmjow so he can be the King like he wants. You're powerful and pretty and interesting and I want you to be my mate."

"Huh? That's all. Because of my looks and power. That's kind of shallow." Shinji said and tried not to be overwhelmed by all the information he had been given. It was spoken like facts, not like the usual taunting or boasting when Hollows bothered to speak about their lives alive.

"Hn. Doesn't matter. We're going to marry and you'll be my mate." the Hollow—Kyouya—stated again.

Shinji bit down on the curse words that wanted to flow. "That's not how it works. You need to court- I mean date first."

Kyouya frowned and nodded. "I can court you. Who would you like me to kill?"

"Huh?! That's not what I meant by courting! Where did you even get that idea?!" Shinji exclaimed.

"Fon said that when you like someone and want to marry them, you track down their enemies, kill them and present the heads to your mate. If they're pleased, they'll marry you." Kyouya explained patiently.

"That, that's not what I meant. Who told you that?" Shinji asked long-suffering.

Kyouya scowled. "Fon is my family. He said that's how my parents met. Everyone in my family meet that way."

Stunned. Silence. "You have a really fucked up family."

"Would you... want to meet them?" Kyouya hesitantly asked.

Shinji was shocked, once again. He had the feeling that it was going to be a constant thing with this Hollow. "Meet them? Are they dead as well?"

Kyouya blinked. "No."

This time, Shinji really did put his hands to his face. "Then how would I meet them? I'm a Visored you know. Sure there are gigai's, but you're a Hollow. They won't be able to see you." he pointed out.

Kyouya didn't react. "If I want them to see me, they will."

A deep breath and then Shinji said, "I give up. Do what you will. I'm out of here."

He turned away from the infuriating Hollow and started walking for the exit. This entire trip had turned out to be like a circus. The only good thing to come out of it was that Aizen and Tousen were dead. And that had been at the work of Kyouya, a Hollow Arrancar.

What was his life coming to?

— —

Ichigo was just as stunned as everyone else in the room. After the defeat of Aizen at the hand of a Hollow they didn't even know and the death of that blind guy, Ichigo thought that that would be all the surprises.

Then the Hollow went and proposed to Hirako.

And really, there were only so many shocks a guy could go through in a day.

And Ichigo had reached his patients end.

As Hirako left the room with an air of long-suffering around him, a Hollow entered it at the same time and gave him a sympathetic look. Ichigo found himself wandering over to this Hollow and asked him, "Is he always like that?"

The Hollow gave him a bored look and answered, "Actually, that was a little more normal than usually."

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows. "What? How?"

"He asked." the Hollow deadpanned.

Ichigo thought about it and didn't really see what the Hollow was talking about. The Hollow to have defeated Aizen had made it pretty clear that he wasn't giving up, probably didn't even know the meaning of the word. There really wasn't a lot of asking involved, aside from some empty platitudes. Ichigo had the feeling that the Hollow wasn't going to take no for an answer. Just as he thought this, he became aware of the Hollow he'd just been thinking about looming over him. Involuntarily—because he had just seen him tear off someone's leg and eat it—Ichigo took a step back.

He scowled at him and glared. "What do you want?"

The Hollow with the pretty purple eyes ignored him and said, "You fought on my mate's side. Who does he want dead?"

"No-one!" Ichigo sharply shrieked out, mostly due to shock at the wildly inappropriate question.

The Hollow tilted his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Ichigo scowled once again. "Hirako isn't like that."

"Hn." the Hollow began. "So Fon was wrong. Should have known, that false carnivore is always trying to trick me. I'll have to find someone else then."

The Hollow turned around and left and for some reason, Ichigo got a really bad feeling about it. He couldn't stop himself from shouting at his back, "Wait! Where are you going?!"

The Hollow didn't look back and only said, "Xanxus."

(Ichigo got a _really bad feeling_. Somehow, if felt like he had just doomed someone, though he didn't know who. The world maybe, or just Hirako? Regardless, he felt the urgent need to get as far away from them all as possible.)

He turned back to the other Hollow that hadn't been involved in the fight and asked, "Do you know where Inoue, a human girl, is?"

He needed to get his priorities back in order.

— —

In Italy, life had moved on after the death of Hibari Kyouya. It had been a few years after all and although they had spent the first year waiting for his miraculous return (there was just something about him that made you think death wouldn't stick) that had eventually ended. Kyouya was dead, and the world moved on. There was a large grand funeral where all the Vongola Guardians were buried and than a private funeral where they secretly moved the corpse to Namimori as written in his will.

(If you could call a couple of scribbles on his reports his will, but it was all the had to go on.)

Life was as peaceful as it could get in the mafia.

Presently, the top members of Vongola and the Varia were in a meeting with another rival famiglia. It was, to put it simply, not going well. A lot of different families had gotten _ideas_ after Kyouya's death, because it proved that even the mighty could fall. They foolishly thought that they could take the Vongola on and live to tell the tale. The Varia took care of that, but Tsunayoshi still had a bleeding heart and didn't want to kill anymore than absolutely necessary. So, they tried negations first. That usually failed.

But it was the trying that mattered, right?

The boss of the rival famiglia was a young upstart that was stubborn as a mule. Tsunayoshi's kind words were not getting through at all and the other members of the Vongola were losing their patience. But before they could explode and reveal all the various threats they had stacked up in their heads, a rift in the fabric of space caught their attention. It was dark, like a bottomless hole.

A foot stepped through it, clad in black pants and then someone was through it.

Tsuna felt his heart stop when he took in the face of the intruder. The eyes were different, as was the long hair and the claws (claws!) as well, but there was no mistaking that face. He breathed out, "Kyouya?"

Kyouya, as was customary, ignored Tsuna to look for Xanxus. Once he caught sight of him, he glided across the floor until he was in front of him. Tsuna was absolutely terrified, because Kyouya was _dead_. Tsuna had always kind of hoped Kyouya had gone straight to reincarnation so he wouldn't have to deal with the exasperation and terror when he died as well. As Tsuna was contemplating the merits of trying to find a way to summon the Shinigami to come deal with this, Kyouya spoke.

"Carnivore, how did you get the shark to marry you?"

Tsuna's heart legitimately stopped. For a few minutes, he was dead until Gokudera managed to revive him from his shock.

"WHAT?!" he shrieked when he came back to life. "WHY WOULD YOU WANNA KNOW THAT?!"

Kyouya looked inordinately smug for someone who was dead and buried. "I've found my mate."

Kyouya had found his mate? What did that mean? There was another Kyouya out there somewhere, because Tsuna could only picture him liking someone like himself? This was an _absolute disaster._

He vaguely heard the other mafia boss ask, "Kyouya? As in Hibari Kyouya the Demon? But he's supposed to be dead!"

Ryohei answered, "Kyouya is too EXTREME to die!"

Tsuna fainted.


	9. Chapter 9

**Though I have a tendency not to respond, know that I _do_ read and appreciate every single review. Thank you very much for your support! If you want a guaranteed answer, just PM me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Gin fled through the hideout like the devil himself was after him.

Somehow, he'd managed to escape the attention of that murderous Hollow as it was distracted by Hirako, but he wasn't sure how long that was going to last. He needed to get out and find some place to lay low for a couple of decades. There was no way he could go back Soul Society now, his reasons for doing what he did wouldn't matter, so all he could do was run and hide. If he was found by anyone at all, it didn't matter what side they were on, he was dead.

He'd come far too far to die now.

Rounding a corner at breakneck speed, he almost collided with another body. When he looked up after he'd stopped abruptly, only just managing to avoid impact, it was to the sight of the same Shinigami that had invaded Soul Society and interrupted Aizen's grand monologue of superiority. The red-haired Shinigami glanced at him and asked, "Is Hibari with you?"

"No." Gin answered flatly.

"Hmm." the man muttered and mumbled out, "Wonder where he went?"

Gin very much did _not_ like the glint in the other Shinigami's eyes and started backing away slowly, praying he wasn't of enough importance to be noticed. This so wasn't what he had signed up for when he had created his plot of vengeance against Aizen.

— —

Kyouya lifted a pale hand to pick up a cup of steaming tea. It was his favorite and he sipped it with pleasure. The sun drifted in through the window, as did the warm wind and the curtains fluttered around it. Where he sat on the floor on a pillow below a low wooden table, Kyouya basked in the sensation of living air. He'd missed this.

The peaceful silence was disturbed when the door was abruptly pulled open and a figure stalked into the room.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the scream came from an utterly disheveled Tsunayoshi.

Kyouya tilted his head. "Hn. None of your business."

Tsunayoshi looked about ready to pull his hair out. Kyouya found that he got a sadistic kind of pleasure from the look. "THERE ARE WEDDING PLANNERS HERE!" after his outburst, he just kind of deflated and dropped to the floor on the other side of the table. His head met the table with a loud _thud_ and Tsunayoshi just kind of laid there.

Kyouya chose to take pity on him. "Of course there are wedding planners here. They are planning my wedding."

A pair of brown eyes that wouldn't look out of place on a puppy peeked out from under the mess of Tsunayoshi's hair. "But they aren't just planning one wedding. They're planning a hundred different ones!"

"Obviously." Kyouya scoffed. "I don't know what my mate will prefer so they're accounting for every possibility. You're paying them generously."

"What?" Tsunayoshi sat up straight and tried to narrow his eyes to glare. It just made him look more harmless. Kyouya couldn't wait for him to die so he could play with him. It was always fun to mess with the Omnivore's mind, he made so many hilarious expressions. "What do you mean I'm paying them?!"

"I'm dead." Kyouya deadpanned. "As my friend, you should pay for my wedding."

"But they are planning _a hundred different ones!_ They're even sending invitations to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. It's going to cost millions!" Tsunayoshi loudly protested in vain.

Kyouya put down the cup of tea on the table and blinked his eyes, widening them like he'd seen so many others do. "Don't you feel sorry for me?"

"NO!"

— —

Grimmjow lazed around on the throne the minions had brought to the fortress that probably had a name. He sighed and scratched at his fur just for something to do. It had been several weeks since they'd gone off to deal with the brazen Shinigami that had invaded Hueco Mundo and just as much time since Kyouya (that bastard) had abandoned them all for the living world to court his new mate.

In short, Grimmjow was bored.

Really, really bored.

Bored.

Booooreed.

He tried to growl to the ceiling but it lacked its usual bite. He'd already tired of killing minions.

Soooo booooreeeed.

He turned over, stretched his body and yawned. It was starting to seem like he was back in the endless sands before he had met Kyouya. He'd thought that it would be a relief but—disgustingly enough—he found himself actually missing the fucker. There was something seriously wrong with him. Maybe he should go visit a doctor? But there were no doctors in Hueco Mundo and he was not going to Soul Society. He'd had enough of Shinigami's thank you very much, he could barely even stand Ashido.

Where could he find a doctor that would actually be able to see him in the living world, though?

Grimmjow sneezed, loudly disturbing the peace of the large empty room. He felt the snot get stuck on his fur and frowned. Somehow, he was absolutely sure that this was all Kyouya's fault. He was going to find the stupid fucker and make him fix him! But first, "MINION!"

He needed a bath.

— —

Tsuna was about ready to tear his hair out.

(Had already started, in fact, but Reborn had oh-so-kindly healed it.)

The wedding planners were _everywhere_. They had infiltrated every corner of Vongola headquarters. No matter which way you turned, they were there, measuring things, taking photos and talking amongst each other to find the best flowers that matched the interior design. But due to the many many weddings that were under planning, they were talking about just redecorating between each one to fit each theme. Redecorating. The whole castle. All of it.

And there were a lot of themes.

There was the gothic wedding, the traditional Japanese wedding, the traditional western wedding, the pink wedding, the wedding by the sea on a cliff overlooking sunset, the wedding at the beach, the outdoor wedding in Vongola headquarters backyard, the Victorian wedding, the medieval wedding, the halloween wedding, the masquerade wedding, the princess wedding, the horror wedding, the vampire wedding, the fairy-tale wedding etc...

Dear god, what had he done in his past life to deserve this?! Killed a bunch of orphans, kicked a million puppies, murdered a billion innocents and burnt down schools?! Well?!

Tsuna managed to hold in his groan of despair, but it was a near thing.

"Oi, dame-Tsuna, what are you doing? There are plans you need to approve." Reborn cruelly interrupted Tsuna's alone time of rest.

Tsuna hung his head and muttered out a, "Nothing."

Seriously, if this went on much longer, he was going to go insane. They needed to get a hold of this mate of Kyouya's and get them here so they could get married and Tsuna could get rid of this entire nightmare.

— —

The garden behind the Vongola headquarters was an impressive sight much suited for a lovely wedding. In the middle of the labyrinth was a gorgeous gazebo where Kyouya was to get married. He had already found his mate, Kyouya's senses stretched far and wide and together with an image for Fon to go off of, Fon had been able to find him in Japan impressively quickly. Kyouya was, despite it all, just a little bit grateful to Fon. Just enough not to murder him on his wedding day.

(And it would have made a wonderful wedding gift too.)

Regardless, Fon had reported that he had sent the invitations to his mate and companions. Now all that was left to do was wait and see if his mate wanted this wedding. There had been no response but some loudly yelled _no's_ over the phone for both the traditional western and Japanese wedding. Kyouya had thought he'd go with the classics first. Honestly, he was kind of looking forwards to the gothic and vampire ones, he hoped his mate would agree to multiple weddings when he showed up.

Made they could have them one after another. Kyouya was sure his mate would look amazing in anything.

He adjusted the suit he was wearing and entered the labyrinth. The planners had really outdone themselves with this one. The wedding was to take place at sunset so there was still an hour or so to go and Kyouya was, for the first time in his life (or death, so to speak), starting to get a little nervous. Of course not of the wedding itself or if his mate was going to come, he was confident he would, but rather if his mate would like it. He could blow this entire place off the map in seconds if he didn't like it. He was well prepared to do so.

Once he reached the gazebo in the center of the labyrinth, he took his place and waited. And waited. And waited.

Eventually, night fell.

Kyouya frowned and glared at the priest every time the idiot tried to say something or leave. He was fully prepared to wait the entire night. He was dead, it wasn't like he had anything else to do. Stars dotted the sky and the moonlight lit up the night. The gazebo was truly a relaxing sight. Perfect for taking a nap. His mate had assumedly not liked this idea so he would just have to go on to the next one. Taking a few naps while waiting sounded like a wonderful idea.

A grunt disturbed the silence. Kyouya looked up and found the form of Fon, now back in his adult form, limping towards him. Kyouya tilted his head in curiosity.

Fon stopped when he was just in front of the steps to the gazebo. "Your mate," he started, "is not going to come."

"Oh," said Kyouya. "and why not?"

"He is... very powerful. You picked a good mate, Kyouya. I'm sure your mother is very proud of you." Fon stated and turned around to leave.

Kyouya smirked. It was always a delight to see his uncle in pain. His mate really was perfect for him.

What a wonderful gift!

— —

Ashido stepped through the garganta Grimmjow had so helpfully created next to the panther himself. He was starting to feel like he was a freaking babysitter, what with how many times he had to go and find Hibari when he disappeared. It wasn't like the Hollow was ever in any actual danger, but Ashido preferred for him to be where he could see and supervise him. Otherwise, he'd go and take over Soul Society out of boredom or something equally ridiculous. Seriously, he could imagine him doing that.

So, for the safety of everyone, it was really in the worlds' best interest for Ashido to follow Hibari Kyouya. And it helped that he had legitimately started to like the Hollow, even if he still wanted to murder him from time to time. Now was one of those times.

Ashido stared out at the garden they had stepped out into.

At his side, Grimmjow growled in anger due to the fact that they couldn't see Hibari anywhere. But as the garganta was supposed to bring them as close as possible, he had to be around somewhere. It was time to continue their search.

It was soon apparent that they were in a labyrinth of some kind, as they repeatedly hit dead ends. With every time they had to go back and take another path, Grimmjow's patience was tested further and the panther only got angrier. Ashido was in no mood to deal with a prissy panther and couldn't wait until they found Hibari. Then the Hollow could deal with the irate and irrational blue panther. Honestly, if Ashido had to deal with the menace much longer, someone was going to die. And it wasn't going to be him.

They found their way into the center of the labyrinth after much cursing and eventually they had resorted to just blowing the hedges away with laborious use of Grimmjow's ceros'. In the center was a beautiful gazebo painted white, with vines and flowers growing over it, as if nature itself was trying to reclaim it. And there, in the middle of the floor in a spot of sun, laid a sleeping Hollow.

Ashido was too late reacting to stop Grimmjow from blowing up.

(Not that he was really going to stop him. He was mad enough himself that in his opinion, Hibari deserved getting yelled at. Furiously and repeatedly.)

"BASTARD!" screamed Grimmjow at the top of his lungs. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU LEFT US BEHIND! AGAIN! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

Kyouya was visibly startled awake. He blinked groggy eyes as them, obviously wondering why they were there. Ashido felt a vein bust in his temple. "Yes, Hibari, explain yourself." he demanded.

"I'm courting my mate. You're just in time for the fifth wedding." Hibari stated flatly.

Ashido bit his tongue to keep from swearing. He liked to think he was better then a lowly Hollow like Grimmjow. "What do you mean fifth wedding? And your mate isn't even here, how can you court him?"

"Oh? But he has been doing a _wonderful_ job of courting me. Did you know that he beat my uncle? It was glorious." it was a very disturbing thing, to see the look of adoration in a crazy person's eyes. Ashido gave into his urge and covered his face in his hands.

"Are you seriously telling me that you are in love with this person?" Ashido demanded.

Hibari looked startled. Ashido was pretty sure it was a record, startling him this many times in a row. "What has love got to do with it?"

Ashido closed his eyes in despair. "Are you serious? Hibari, most people don't want to marry someone they don't love."

"Hn..." Hibari hummed, "a good point, I guess. Fine, I'll try it your way."

With that, the Hollow sat up from the floor of the gorgeous gazebo and Ashido could only watch as he left. Hurrying after him, he called out, "My way? What do you mean by that? Hibari?!"

Meanwhile, Grimmjow was utterly lost in the labyrinth.

— —

Something strange was going on at Vongola Headquarters.

By now, the people were used to the wedding decorations that never seemed to be taken down, only replaced, and the many planners that roamed the halls. But something else was different. It was the way recruits seemed to be fighting with invisible enemies in the training rooms, the way some windows were opened as soon as they turned their backs to them, doors that opened and closed without anyone using them, that newbie that fell down the stairs but was caught by someone that couldn't be seen.

Was there an enemy Mist in the mansion?

Or was it all a prank? That was the question.

Regardless, Xanxus was so done with it.

He prowled through the hallways of the Vongola mansion on the hunt for the tiny Decimo that he, despite everything, owed allegiance too. Something had to be done. Or blood would be spilt. Messing around on this level was usually the work of one of the Decimo's Mists, so he'd start there and work his way down.

If it weren't them… well then that was an entirely different thing. In that case, someone was going to die.

Xanxus blew through the doors the Decimo was hiding behind. In other words, the Decimo's office. In it, the Decimo, Tsunayoshi Sawada, was hiding behind a large exaggerated wooden desk, piled over with papers and two laptops and a stationary computer. The scrap of a thing that hadn't grown much since his days as a teenager seemed even smaller behind it. He had large dark circles under his eyes and when the Decimo looked up, he didn't seem to be able to see Xanxus. He looked utterly exhausted.

Xanxus crossed his arms over his chest and stated. "Some Mist is creating chaos in the mansion and you're going to fix it."

The Decimo face planted onto his pile of papers.

Despite it all, Xanxus couldn't keep from laughing at the amusing picture. The Decimo of Vongola, the most powerful mafia family in the world, and he was moaning in denial in his office, trying to run from reality.

He got his humor under control and demanded harshly, "So? What are you going to do?"

The Decimo emerged from his hiding place with his hair a complete mess. "I'm not going to do anything. If you're that bothered about it, you can do something about it yourself."

Xanxus scowled. "As Decimo, it is your duty to keep up the morale and mood of your family and right now, they believe that they're either being haunted or being punished by a deity. _Do something_."

For a second, it looked like he would fold, but then he caught sight of a paper and immediately, Tsuna's face fell into despair. The boy exploded. "DO SOMETHING?! HOW ABOUT YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT KYOUYA! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH EACH ONE OF HIS WEDDINGS COST?! WE'RE GOING BROKE XANXUS! WE'LL BE FILING BANKRUPTCY PAPERS SOON! AND HIS MATE NEVER COMES TO THE MONEY WASTING PIECE OF SHIT THAT ARE HIS WEDDINGS! I'M STARTING TO DOUBT THEY EVEN EXIST! SURELY, AT THIS POINT, KYOUYA IS JUST MESSING WITH US!"

The boy continued in a lower tone but just as furious and filled with a hopeless kind of despair. "And you know the worst part Xanxus? He's not even a little bit sorry! He'll be driving us out of house and home soon and he's never felt even a little bit apologetic! If this goes on, Vongola will be destroyed! By a dead Cloud Guardian! AND REBORN IS JUST AMUSED BY IT!"

Xanxus watched as the boy heaved for breaths, stunned that he had managed to yell at him. It was the first time Tsunayoshi had ever lost his temper with him. The Decimo must be _really_ stressed. He narrowed his eyes. "I'll deal with Kyouya and you deal with the apparent hauntings, deal?"

The brat stared at him with big hopeful eyes and nodded gratefully. Xanxus grimaced. "The next time you dare to yell at me, I'll gut you."

With that, he left. He'd gotten what he came for. Now, to find the walking disaster that was called Kyouya.

— —

In another part of the mansion, Kyouya, the monster in question, was blissfully sleeping in his room. He'd been delighted when he discovered they hadn't changed a thing while he was gone and was now again napping happily in it. He was unknowing of the chaos reigning outside his oasis of peace.

That was, until something came flying through his wall and abruptly woke him up. Which was never a good thing.

 _Never._

Furious, Kyouya's purple eyes glowed brightly and he was up and over the thing that had crashed through his wall and awoken him in moments. The dazed form of the Lightning Guardian lay crumpled on the floor, barely holding on to consciousness. Kyouya ruthlessly kicked him in his stomach and watched, satisfied, as the boy retched and lost consciousness. It was a suitable punishment. Really, you'd think people would learn.

Kyouya stalked out of the room fully intent on killing and eating somebody. He was starting to crave meat anyway, so it was a lucky coincidence. Outside, the hallway was in chaos. Minions were running around all over the place, guns were shooting wildly and Kyouya was abruptly reminded of how he died and felt a sudden inexplicable rage fill him. Oh, someone was so dead.

So very, very _dead_.

He tore his way through the chaos until he reached open space and found someone to fill him in on what was going on. And there stood Ashido, avoiding bullets filled with Dying Will Flames and surrounded by chanting priests. Kyouya frowned and approached.

He towered over the small portly bald priest that stood closest. Kyouya opened his mouth and spoke. "What do you think you are doing, herbivore?"

The priest stopped chanting and glanced behind with fear clearly expressed in his eyes. The bald man gulped and squeaked out a, "Exorcising the demon, of course."

Kyouya smiled, a beautifully terrifying thing. "That is not a demon, it is a Shinigami."

The man's eyes went wide and he looked frightened out of his mind. Kyouya swallowed his soul with but a thought. It was kind of tasteless actually, he noted, annoyed. As the man fell to the ground, dead within moments as a body couldn't live without a soul, manufactured or otherwise, the others lost focus and stared, horrified. Kyouya felt satisfaction fill him as they turned scared gazes to him.

Ah, to be feared. It was a wonderful thing.

Kyouya grinned and grabbed a hold of the heart of the closest live priest and with a cruel twist, pulled it out. His hand was bloody, and he grimaced at the blood. It was going to be pain to wash out if it dried. When the heart fell to the ground and the priest that just died followed, the others were finally pulled out of their stupor. They banished holy crosses and started chanting anew, this time directed at Kyouya.

Of course, it did precisely nothing.

While the priests panicked and tried one chant after another, Kyouya slowly killed them, one by one, until there were only two left. Finally, they did the sensible thing to do and ran screaming from the room.

Pouting from having his toys running away, Kyouya turned to stare at Ashido. "What exactly happened?"

"Ah, well..." curiously, Ashido seemed almost embarrassed. "that's a long story."

Kyouya rose an eyebrow and Ashido continued with, "Suffice to say, there may have been a prank war involved. Somehow, they seemed to think we were haunting them. Ridiculous, right?"

Kyouya just hummed and the Shinigami broke eye contact with a grimace. "Grimmjow may have... pushed some people down stairs and I may have caught them. And we might have been using the training rooms to stay in shape and occasionally, we might have trained with the humans that may or may not be able to see us. The usual things, you know. I don't see how that make them think we were demons."

"Really?" Kyouya drawled out in an unimpressed tone. "You can't see the connection there? I'd think it was staring you rather blatantly in the face."

Ashido just stared at the wall, silent as the grave.

— —

The Vongola elite were once again having a meeting with a rival mafia family. The room was filled with a somber atmosphere and Vongola sat on one side of the large table while their enemies were on the other, both showing a united front.

It was quiet, it was serious and it was strictly business.

Obviously, something was going to go wrong.

The door was kicked down without any warning and smoke filled the room. When it dissipated, a blond man stood there in the doorway, one that no-one recognized. The man glared at them all and demanded, "Where is Kyouya?"

The people from Vongola exchanged unsettled eyes and eventually, Gokudera bit the bullet and asked, "Why do you want to know?"

 _"Because,"_ the man started in a harsh tone. "that bastard keeps sending me invitations to our wedding. Now, where is he?"

"Wait, _you're_ Kyouya's mate?!" Tsuna yelled out in shock. He had expected someone more... well not what the man was. Someone more like Kyouya.

The man grinned and suddenly Tsuna could see why Kyouya might be attracted to him. It was a terrifying thing. "You got a problem with that?" the man demanded.

Xanxus rose from his seat and gripped his guns. "Your name."

The blond stranger rose an eyebrow in response. "Hirako Shinji. Now, answer my question."

"Kyouya is somewhere here. That's all you'll get." Xanxus stated.

The man smiled and said, "Thank you. You've been very helpful."

And with that, the man left as fast as he arrived.

A strangled cough on the other side of the table got their attention again and Tsuna watched as the man squeaked out, "That was Hibari Kyouya's mate? The mate of the Demon?"

Tsuna understood their feelings. Truly, he did.

— —

Shinji was pissed off. No, he was more than that. He was _furious_. So far, he had received six invitations to weddings where he was apparently supposed to be the bride. Which was just not going to happen. Moreover, they were all from the same insane Hollow that had defeated Aizen. And sure, he was grateful for it, but he wasn't going to marry him just for that. Needless to say, he had declined all the invitations. Loudly and repeatedly.

Hell, the demented Hollow had even sent someone to kidnap him! Shinji had kicked his ass, but it was the principle of the thing. Seriously, who would kidnap someone they supposedly wanted to marry?!

Not for the first time, he wondered if the Hollow was insane.

Shinji stalked through the halls of the mansion that had been given as the address of most of the weddings. He was on a mission to make the stupid Hollow see sense, even if it killed him. He could not keep having to call and complain to the first person who answered, it was annoying and useless and it didn't make a difference. It was time for the last resort.

Wandering through the halls, peeking in through every door or ledge he found, Shinji eventually made his way to a far off room where he finally hit the jackpot. That is, he found Kyouya, the crazy bastard, sleeping on a futon. A vein burst in his temple.

"OI! WAKE UP!"

Kyouya blinked awake, already looking annoyed and with murder shining in his purple inhuman eyes. Shinji refused to back down. He pulled out the latest invitation and held it up in front of the idiot's face. "What the hell is this supposed to be?!"

Kyouya stared at it for a second and answered, "The invitation to our wedding."

Shinji clenched his jaw. "This, Kyouya, states that we are in love!"

"It worked, didn't it? You're here." Kyouya deadpanned.

"To kill you." Shinji drawled. "I'm here to kill you. And maybe this time you'll actually do the decent thing and _stay dead_."

Kyouya tilted his head in thought. "So you don't want the princess themed wedding?"

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD I WANT A PRINCESS THEMED WEDDING?!"

* * *

 **A/N: I'm contemplating the idea of writing a KHR Zombie AU with Kyouya as the main character. What do you think?**


End file.
